


Red Eyed Strangers

by redkite



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Bad guy Gamzee, Dave is an artist, Dreams and Nightmares, Drug Use, M/M, Memory Loss, Mildly Dubious Consent, Trolls on Earth, Violence, Xeno, after SBURB
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-05 10:14:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4176009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redkite/pseuds/redkite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Updates every Tuesday and Friday.</p><p> <br/>After Karkat met Dave Strider he was plagued by strange dreams.  He thought that the nightmares were bad.  These dreams made him question reality.  Karkat was a quiet troll.  He worked a shitty office job as a talent agent.   When Karkat's car is impounded,  he is forced to work with a new artist, Dave Strider.  Karkat learns he has to believe in a drugged out human, of all things.  </p><p>All Dave needed was something to believe in, and someone to care about.  Karkat seemed to be a good option, if Dave could stop fucking up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Email

Karkat Vantas was a quiet troll. Quiet in a way that often made people uncomfortable. The troll typically kept to himself, not wanting to be bothered. In his self-created solitude he read books and watched movies on his tablet. Fiction always had inspired him more than reality. 

The young troll didn’t have many friends, nor did he go out often. With this in mind, he believed it would be hard for him to be considered a “bad” person. He just kept to himself, mostly. Who would even judge him? He certainly didn’t see himself as a bad guy. Good may not be the most accurate descriptor but he wasn’t bad.

Trolling unsuspecting simpletons was in Karkat’s past. Creating and sending viruses wasn’t the nicest hobby, but he was young. Then there was that restaurant that he wasn’t exactly banned from but he defiantly couldn’t visit now. That was recent. Then again it was more of a frowned upon act rather than a bad deed. He did good things, too. Sometimes. He helped his friend, John, write an essay. Karkat wrote the paper for him but he still did the right thing. John had to study for another test and didn’t have the time. Karkat gave his sandwich to a homeless guy once. He said some nasty things when he did it though. Do those two things cancel out then? 

Frustrated, Karkat ran a hand through his sweaty hair. Having a moral dilemma wasn’t his top priority today. He had to stay in the present. The tow truck had sped away too fast for Karkat to keep up. It didn’t matter whether or not he was a bad person or if he deserved it. This was a real thing that happened. His car had just been towed. He was now poor, angry, and without transportation. He flung his hat towards the ground and cursed loudly enough to gain the attention of by standards. 

What’s the plan? Karkat believed he was innately a leader. Yet no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t think of an action plan. If he even conceived a half decent plan he’d probably ignore it anyway. Karkat took up his hat and brushed it off. Adjusting it back into place he got directions to the impound lot.  
Once at the impound lot, he waited on the line till he got to the front. A long line was formed behind him by now. The man behind the glass told Karkat his price. 

“How much?” Karkat asked with sudden alarm.  
“140.” The man repeated.  
“Why?”  
“Listen I don’t make up the prices here.”  
Karkat closed his eyes and groaned.  
Rubbing the bridge of his nose Karkat said, “I don’t exactly have that kind of cash on me right now.”  
“Do the crime, pay the money.” The man behind the bullet proof glass wasn’t very helpful. 

“I need my car.” Karkat opened his eyes and met the tired gaze of the gentleman. The man was dark skinned and he wore a relatively baggy grey hoodie with the hood up, which was strange for the season as well as the fact that he was inside.  
“So do all the other people behind you. You need to pay for it.”

“ARE YOU GIVING MY FRIEND HERE ANY TROUBLE?” The gruff voice surprised both Karkat and the gentleman. An older man behind the gentleman spoke up. His restricted arms pulsed in his tight shirt.

“WE ALL LOVE THE MAYOR, DON’T YOU GIVE HIM ANY TROUBLE.”  
“Uh no I just…” Karkat was lost on words.  
The man fondly known as “the mayor” smiled lightheartedly.  
Exasperated Karkat cursed under his breathe.  
The mayor spoke up. “Listen I’ll tell you what. The car will be auctioned off if it’s not paid for.”  
A jolt ran through Karkat. The mayor noticed his reaction and raised a brow.  
“Every day that you don’t pay for the car, the price goes up by 5 dollars. You’ll have 30 days before the auction. Pay us before then and you’ll get your car back.”  
“This is fucked, isn’t there something else I could-“  
“ARE YOU HARRASSING THE MAYOR???”  
“What the fuck, no I-“

The older man briskly walked over to the window and flung the mayor backwards in his rolly chair. “YOU HEARD THE MAN.”  
“But...“ Karkat trailed off, taken back by the creepy twitch in the man’s eye and left empty handed. He needed the extra money now to get his car. He’d have to insure that he’d have the money.

As he walked to the bus stop Karkat made up an action plan. Karkat worked as a talent agent for a well-known company. It wasn’t what he wanted to do with himself but the pay was decent and he needed a job. He was given clients every so often, usually once every two weeks. He made 30 percent of his client’s earnings along with meager hourly pay. Sometimes the clients became a locally famous but more than not they crashed and burned. Hs last client, a talentless rapper, was the reason he was broke.  
Sometime this week he should be getting a new client. Karkat decided at that bus stop, he would do everything in his power to make this client famous. That or at least sell enough of the guy to get the money for his car. Karkat would have to put all his irons in the fire and pull every string. He was going to make this happen. 

  
  
  


A few days later Karkat received a large envelope on his desk. Opening up the envelope revealed his new client. His name was David Strider. He was a painter. He was mostly known in the town he lived in. It said he worked in oils and water color.

Flipping through his file revealed a few matte prints of work he had done previously. One of his paintings was done with vivid, contrasting colors on top of mellow colors and it seemed both blurry and clear. It was defiantly eye catching. It reminded him of a rainy night in the city. It wasn’t the kind of thing he would hang in a home though. The next image had a graffiti look to it. It was a red glowing sign that said “Eat at Joe’s”. The background was black but the edges of the painting faded into a crimson color. The reference escaped Karkat but the image did look interesting.

Karkat flipped to the last image and had to take a closer look at what he was seeing. This painting was big, it had to be the size of a full grown adult male. Like the others, this one had a hazy look to it. Karkat’s breathe hitched at the subject of the painting. Even though it was blurry the subject was a nude troll woman. Her skin was flushed in a way that her bright red blood stained her grey skin.

Another troll with candy red blood like his. Karkat’s hands began to tremble. No, it couldn’t be possible. He had never seen someone like him. At least, not that he knew of. The painting was too hazy to make out specific features of her face. The only thing that was definite was that she had curly hair that was short in the back but long in the front. Looks like he had a mystery to add to his action plan.

First things first, though. Karkat decided he would meet this artist. Although Karkat had never worked with a painter, he knew that David Strider would be like any other client. He had Hollywood stars in his eyes and a fat wallet. He was probably an idiot. Sitting down at his desk, Karkat took a deep breath and fashioned up a quick email:

  
  


Dear Mr. Strider,

Hello, my name is Karkat Vantas. I’ve been hired to be your manager by Ashe Inc. My goal is to help you gain notoriety in the artist world. I’m hoping to take a trip to your home at the earliest convenience so that we may talk face to face. Please write me back soon so that we may schedule a date for my visit.  
-Signed, Karkat Vantas.

  
  


Karkat was laying it on a little thick but that should do it. He clicked send and began typing out another email to a contact. His computer dinged. A red number one appeared next to his username. Karkat saved his new draft and went into his general inbox.  
David Strider had messaged him back already. Karkat was taken back and looked at the clock to confirm his disbelief. No more than 5 minutes had passed. Either this was a weird coincidence or the man had been waiting. A shiver went down his spine as he opened the email.

  
  


Dear Karkat,

I’m glad to hear that you have good taste in art. It was a smart business decision on your part to recognize my art is not only a good investment, but also that it is worthy to gain a sufficient amount of popularity that it justly deserves. A clever man as yourself, I’m sure understands that my schedule is absurdly jammed packed and that my digital planner is taken up a good amount of storage space on my phone. That’s why I’m happy to say that I can push some time aside so that we can have a small window of opportunity to meet at 4:30 pm today. I’ll be opening my bachelor pad to you with open amicable arms just as long as you don’t fuck up my fresh carpet. My next availability will be in a month from now so I imagine I’ll be seeing you for late lunch. 

-Love, D. Strider

  
  


 

Karkat felt his eye twitch. He looked at the clock. It was 3:25 pm. A burning rage began to bubble up in his chest as he looked back to the email. D. Strider was an insufferable prick. Karkat was good at pegging humans as soon as he heard the first infuriatingly asinine and downright full of horse shit grub blubbering that erupted from their sadly unevolved nommy mouths. With their awestruck inducing driveling slaw jacked chattering that proved there was nary even a chance of intelligent life on this planet before trolls graced this archaic terrestrial surface, providing superior intellect so that the human race didn’t kill themselves from drowning in their own putrid slobber. In fact D. Strider could possibly be the shimmering prime example of the level of stupidity that the human race has wrought onto the poor undeserving think pans of every troll for forever. Human stupidity is why Karkat never wanted to get out of his nauseatingly stiff bed, designed selfishly with only the soft homo sapiens back in mind, in the morning, after he awoke from his teeth clenching, terrifying nightmares that he was begrudgingly gifted to by the human race. Every headache, every face palm, every time he had to bash his head into a wall it was because of humans. Fuck humans.

No, now wasn’t the time to implode. Karkat was a troll with self-control. He only had an hour. He had to get to the train station NOW. Karkat quickly emailed his boss where he would be and left his cubicle. Racing, he made it to the bus stop. The bus to the train station would take 15 minutes. That wasn’t too bad. Hopping onto the bus he paid his fare and got the train promptly. He was set up and going on the train 20 minutes after that. His stop would be in another 20 minutes. In the meantime he looked up taxi services. Once the train stopped at his destination he got off and was already calling the cab.

In another half an hour he was on his way to D. Striders place. Karkat would be late but what did that asshole expect? He had no idea what the place looked like so he’d have to take the cab driver’s word for it. A nice yellow blood greeted him from the driver’s seat. A weird feeling settled in Karkat’s stomach when he told the troll the address though. The troll sounded uncomfortable. He actually turned around and asked if Karkat was sure that was the right address.

“I’m absolutely positive,” Karkat confirmed as he bucked up. “This is where I need to go. Why would I be unsure of something this important?”

“Uhh well it’s like tthiss…I’ve ttaken many people to tthat adresss. Ttrollsss and Humanss alike. It’ss just, you don’t look like the kind of ttroll to be visiting’ tthatt aparthmentt.” The cab driver chuckled awkwardly.

“I’m fucking sure.” Karkat replied, dryly.

The cab driver began to pull out of the train station. “Alrightt….” He mumbled.

The drive only took 15 minutes. When the cab stopped, Karkat found himself in front of a tall, nice looking apartment in what seemed like a financially well off area. The large apartment was painted completely white, even the terrace’s railing was white. The shutters on the sides of the windows were painted a faded shade of red that matched the red and white stripped overhang above the apartment’s door. Under each window had a gardening box. The overall appearance of the place was very European. It was strange to think that the troll thought this place was even remotely suspicious looking. Even so, the troll looked uncomfortable just sitting and waiting.

Karkat went into his wallet and pulled out his fare. His face dropped at the sight of his remaining cash. He had enough to cover the expense but his money was dwindling quickly. The cab driver accepted the money and faired Karkat a good day. Karkat stepped out the cab and covered his eyes from the bright light. For some reason, it was very sunny in this place. The uneasy feeling in Karkat’s stomach wouldn’t stop. The car peeled away. The feeling got worse as Karkat stepped up closer to the apartment. It was so nice looking. Each window had vibrant flowers and the hedges next to the door were shaped so neatly. Who was David Strider?

Karkat opened the door. On the inside was a hall lined with doors. Directly next to the door were metal mailbox slots. In front of him was a staircase to the next floor. It looked normal on the inside too. Maybe a little more dingy though. Karkat climbed the stairs. The florescent lights flickered in some spots. David Strider lived a few levels up. As karkat climbed higher he noticed an absence. The building was silent. There were no baby’s crying, no dogs barking, no talking, no TV noises, nothing. It was as if no one lived here. Another floor passed. Karkat began to feel alone. Each step he took on the dark, hard, plastic covering on the steps echoed loudly. Karkat’s suddenly understood his situation. He was going into an unknown area to meet a complete stranger. He could easily be trapped into this man’s apartment. Another floor passed. He travelled higher. One more floor. Karkat couldn’t slow down his quickened pulse. The white walls were tinged yellow here from the lights. Still no noises. It was unnaturally warm here. This was his stop.

Apartment 46. It was down this hallway. His shoes clacked on the linoleum floor. It wouldn’t be far away now. His stomach twisted. The next door was hus, David Strider. D. Strider. Apartment 46. The lettering was in false gold. The door was black. He took up the gold clacker and knocked on the door. Once, twice, three times. No response. Maybe this was for the best. Karkat turned to leave before the door jerked open, abruptly stopped by the chain lock. The door close again and he heard cursing on the other side. The chain was unhitched and the door creaked open.

Standing there was something Karkat defiantly wasn’t expecting. He shut his eyes and quickly spun around. He was just about to apologize profusely before he realized he had only knocked on the door. A female troll stood in the door way, head to toe completely nude. She was unfazed by his reaction. Karkat’s face passed a shade of red as he spoke, still turned around. “Um, is David Strider here?” His voice cracked. Super smooth there, Vantas.

The troll girl’s face remained emotionless. “Are you the pizza guy?” She asked. Her voice was high pitched and rough.  


“Pizza? Fucking, NO. Just- IS D. STRIDER HERE?” Karkat was jarred.

“That the pizza, TZ?” A male voice called from behind the troll.

“It’s not the pizza guy.” She replied.

A gust of wind passed by Karkat as the door slammed shut. The sounded echoed in the empty hall. Uncovering his eyes, Karkat stood there alone and stupefied.


	2. Hard to Handle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dear Karkat,
> 
> Fucking “A” man. Let’s do this shit. Meet me at Cat’s Cradle at 6 pm tomorrow. We’ll outline our mater plans together. You know you’re my favorite person right now. Like, I’m so happy I could kiss you. Wait, I’ll stop talking before I say something weird that I’ll be embarrassed about later. Like how much I appreciate the shit out of your help. Was that embarrassing? Fuck I’m so happy I don’t even care. I’m not even going to edit this because I’m so proud. See you tomorrow.
> 
> Love, Dave."

A gust of wind passed by Karkat as the door slammed shut. The sounded echoed in the empty hall. Uncovering his eyes, Karkat stood there alone and stupefied. In a moment the door opened again and a human male in sun glasses stood there. However he was also naked. Karkat covered his eyes again.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Karkat yelled.

“Who’s this?” The man asked.

“I’m- My name is Karkat Vantas. I’m Ashe Inc. For the love of gog is D. Strider here?”

“Speaking.”

Karkat uncovered his eyes, before jolting again at the human’s huge misshapen genitals. “Can you please put on some fucking clothes?” Karkat asked pitifully. Strider stared Karkat down for a moment before closing the door. In a minute the door opened again and the male wore a robe. “You gonna come in or you wanna dick around here some more?” He asked. A hint of a southern drawl was sweet on his lips. 

“Yes, I’d like to come in.” Karkat replied.

Strider moved aside to let him in. A gust of cool wind floated from the open doorway. Karkat entered the apartment apprehensively. The sound of a mandolin guitar could be heard faintly. Once inside, the door was closed and locked.

“Shoes.” Strider commanded. “Off.” 

Karkat took off his shoes. It was no surprise Strider was insistent on his shoe policy. In front of the door was a foot of tile, but afterwards the flooring was completely white shag carpeting. It felt soft under his feet. Karkat blushed, a little embarrassed. He picked a bad day not to wear socks.

The walls inside the apartment were dark red, like a setting sun. The hallway lead to a spacious living room. The furniture was entirely white. The troll girl from before sat on a white couch. She was now clothed in a similar robe to Strider’s. She smiled at him with a toothy grin.

“I want Mr. Shouty to sit next to me.” The troll girl chirped. Her nickname didn’t register to Karkat. He kept looking at her, confused. She looked familiar but Karkat couldn’t place a finger on where he knew her from. The troll woman in the painting came to Karkat’s mind.

“Karkat you can take a seat where ever you’d like.” Strider said.

Karkat took him up on the offer, seating himself in a white leather arm chair. He took out Strider’s envelope from his briefcase. Strider sat next to the now frowning troll girl. 

“Ok, David Strider it’s nice to meet you. I’m Karkat Vantas and I’m going to be your talent agent.” Karkat stuck out his hand and Strider went ahead and shook it.

“My friends call me Dave. So… I guess you can call me Dave.” Strider replied.

“Alright Dave. I saw the prints in your file.” Karkat flipped through Dave’s folder as he spoke. “I like the one with the troll girl, I believe it was titled “Nitid”. Can you tell me what or who your inspiration was?”

Dave leaned back in his seat and looked at the ceiling. He stared at it for a moment, possibly in thought, before he spoke. When he finally replied it was one drawn out word, “Dunno”.

Karkat furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Half of the time I wake up and the paintings are just there.” Dave said, still looking up.

“So you’re saying you wake up and find art in your home…?”

Dave looked directly at Karkat now. His black shades reflected the light from the spotlight lighting. “That’s exactly what I just said, yes.” He replied.

  


“How do you know it’s yours then?” Karkat asked cautiously.

“Dunno.” Dave replied. “I figure that I don’t have many reoccurring visitors. The paintings are always there though.”

“So, you’re telling me you sleep paint or something?” Karkat asked, becoming slightly agitated.

“No.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t wake up every night to a new painting. Just on certain nights.”

“What like, on a full moon?” Karkat asked jokingly. He was starting to doubt the man’s sanity.

“No, just typically when I get fucked up.”

  


Karkat felt his stomach turn. He got stuck with a drug addict for a client. “Do you paint typically without drugs?” He asked

“I’m no painter. I can lay down some sick rhymes though.”

Karkat put his paper work back into the envelope. He could see where this was going. This guy was just another fucked up wannabe artist. In fact, no, he wasn’t even an artist. He didn’t like painting. How would he sell Dave Strider? There was no way. Karkat already made up his mind. He had to refuse service to his client. He would have to think of a plan b for the money for his car later. Karkat rose from the seat.

“Ok Mr. Strider I think I’ve seen enough for today. I’ll call you later.” Karkat put the envelope back into his brief case. As he was walking to the front door he heard Dave call his name.

“Hey, don’t you want to see any more of my art?” Dave asked.

  


Karkat turned around. The man hadn’t moved from his spot next to the troll girl. Instead he gestured to a closed door in the back of the apartment. He looked at the man cautiously. That room could be dangerous. He should leave. It wasn’t safe here. Yet the way that Dave looked so confident. That smirk on his face. Karkat had to see what was in that room.

Dave rose from his seat and strolled to the room. Karkat followed suite. Dave got to the door and opened it wide. The room was too dark on the inside to properly see anything. Karkat took a step forward and squinted into the room. He took a step back again but bumped into something hard. Before he could react he was forced into the room. The door shut sharply and everything went dark.

  


Click, the door locked. Panic bubbled into karkat’s throat. His head felt fuzzy. He was trapped. A chocked sound erupted from his clenched throat. This is how he would die. Suddenly the room was filled with dazzling light. Karkat shaded his eyes. When he looked through the light he saw Dave had entered the room with him.

  


“This is a private room.” He said. Slowly, he moved his hand from the light switched and gestured to the other side of the room.

This room seemed to be a spare bedroom, fully furnished with bedroom essentials. The room was filled with paintings. Most of them we’re already painted but some of them were blank. Paint supplies sat on top of the night stand closest to the door. On the other side of the room a large painting hung proudly. Light filtered from behind the image making it practically glow in front of the blocked window. It was the painting of the troll girl.

Karkat’s breathe was taken away. The painting in person had so much more of an impact. He felt like he was looking into a hole in the wall where this troll laid on her stomach, looking back at him. Her grey skin was like ash, dappled by light, and the flushed color of her blood, that tainted cherry red, looked so beautiful. It was nothing like his blood, that disgusting color. It was beautiful. Her eyes pierced something deep inside of him, stirring up something primal. He wanted to know this girl, if she existed. He wanted to meet the woman in the painting. He wanted to feel her soft and curly black hair. He wanted to know why she looked so sad.

The dark red sheets under her gave the painting a sinister look. Was she bleeding? Was she in trouble? The lighting showed she was in a dark place, the light seemed to come through a lattice. The strange part was that the painting had a hazy feeling to it, like the scene was being seen through fine smoke. Yet he could still make out her features clearly. The painting was truly exquisite. Karkat couldn’t take his eyes away.

  


“It’s a good painting right?” Dave asked.

Karkat snapped out of his trance. “It’s…amazing.” He replied. “Is she a real troll?”

Dave shook his head. “Dunno. I’m too fucked up to remember the nights I paint these things.” He said. “I’m fairly certain that, if she is real, I slept with her.”  


Karkat looked at Dave questioningly. “Why do you say that?” He asked.

“Just a feeling.” Dave became quiet as he looked at the painting.

“I’m going to get you a gallery going somewhere.” Karkat said, breaking the silence. “Someone might buy your paintings.”

“That’s what I want to hear, Karkat.” Dave replied. A smile crept across his face. “When I sell one of these bad boys I’m taking you out for a drink.”

“I guess that’s ok.” Karkat replied quietly. A faint smile dusted across his face before he regained composure. “Let’s get these sold first. We can plan celebrations later.”

Karkat said goodbye to the strange troll girl and left the apartment. Tonight he had a lot of work to do. He knew a person to call, someone who owed him a favor. He also had the number of a few marketing companies that could send out advertisements if his deal went through. Hopefully that would get the ball running. Karkat tightly gripped the envelope he carried. Dave Strider might help him get his car back. There was even a possibility that Dave Strider could get him out of being soul crushingly poor. It felt like the weight of the world hung on this one man. This one drugged up 23 year old. Karkat was so fucked.

  
  
  
  
  


Karkat had pulled all the stops, and it worked. He couldn’t stop smiling at the email in his inbox. It had been two days since his introduction to Dave Strider. In that time, he had the consent of his contact to give the new artist a gallery exhibit in a locally owned gallery. The place typically showed new artists but something was better than nothing. The real excitement came from the potential of this exhibit. Money. People were able to do a silent auction on paintings they enjoyed.

  


Karkat pulled up a new email to the artist himself. Cracking his knuckles, he thought of what he’d type. It shouldn’t show how hyped he really was, it had to be cool. He was a professional after all. 

  
  
  


Dear Dave Strider,

Hello again. I’m please to tell you that an exciting offer has been extended from one of our friends here at Ashe Inc. You have the chance to display your paintings at a local art museum. At this location, your paintings can be sold in a silent auction if you choose it. This is an exciting opportunity for both of us. Please contact me when you know what you’d like to do. 

-Signed, Karkat Vantas  
  
  
  


“It looks as if the curator didn’t want his secret affair to get out into the public” wasn’t the most professional way to put your offer. Black mail isn’t professional, but it is efficient. The question of morality opened up in his mind again. No, Karkat still believed he was a good person. He was just desperate. The curator was happy to offer his services, and Strider will be happy. Everyone wins.  
Just as before, Karkat received in email almost immediately.

  
  
  


Dear Karkat,

Fucking “A” man. Let’s do this shit. Meet me at Cat’s Cradle at 6 pm tomorrow. We’ll outline our mater plans together. You know you’re my favorite person right now. Like, I’m so happy I could kiss you. Wait, I’ll stop talking before I say something weird that I’ll be embarrassed about later. Like how much I appreciate the shit out of your help. Was that embarrassing? Fuck I’m so happy I don’t even care. I’m not even going to edit this because I’m so proud. See you tomorrow.

Love, Dave.

  
  
  


The formality in his emails was astounding. You hardly knew the guy yet he was so casual. He seemed sort of creepy as well but in a funny way, probably. Just like when he worked with theatrical people, Karkat learned to never judge a person, at least not verbally, by how fucking weird they were. What was he talking about in his last email? He said he was fucking booked solid. Fucking artists.  
Cat's Cradle, where was that? A quick search showed it was in his town. Huh. It was only a few blocks away from Ashe Inc. Looks like Strider did his research. Karkat could probably walk there. Yep, it was only a 20 minute walk. He even had 2 hours to go home and change into more comfortable clothes if he wanted. 

 

The next day after work Karkat left to go change his clothes. He slipped on a pair of shorts and a polo shirt. Still had to look somewhat business like. He took a bus back to his job and walked the rest of the way. He carried his brief case with him.

Cat's Cradle was a small cafe, locally owned. This place was a cat cafe apparently. It looked like a small green cottage. This was definatly not a place karkat would have visited or even notice. The sign in the window read, “Cats, people, and trolls welcome!” with a little cat face. Karkat grimaced.

“Yo, Karkat.” A familiar southern drawl called out.

Karkat turned around to see Strider walking up to him from the parking lot with a child it appeared. Strider was dressed like the men in fashion magazines. Karkat was some what impressed. The kid following in tote wore a grey hoodie with long black pants. His skin was fairly dark and-- wait. He looked familiar.

“Oh hey I know you.” the Mayor greeted.

“Wait, you know him?” Karkat asked Dave, bewildered.

“You know him?” Dave asked the Mayor.

“This guy couldn't pay for his car.” the Mayor responded.

“Oh my god, What the actual fuck?” Karkat slipped.

“You couldn't pay for your car?” Dave asked Karkat. “How did you get here?”

Karkat's face reddened in sudden embarrassment. 

“How much was the car?” Dave asked the Mayor.

“Well, it was 140.” The mayor responded. “Probably's gone up by now.”

“You don't have 140 on you, bro?” Dave asked Karkat.

“I- I didn't come here to have an interrogation on my financial situation.” Karkat snapped. “Please, lets go inside this disgustingly colored food distributor.”

Dave shrugged his shoulders and lead the way into the building. The mayor followed Dave and Karkat straggled in the back. Looking inside the cottage, the place looked sort of rustic. All the furniture was wooden along with the wooden floor. The walls were an off white and the ceiling had wooden rafters. A few cats freely roamed the floor and sat in the window sills. A few people sat at the tables eating silently. There was no music in this restaurant.

Dave went ahead and sat at a wooden table. The mayor sat next to him and Karkat sat across from the two. In a moment a waitress came over. The girl was an older teen or a young adult. She had short blonde hair and wore a white shirt with a black skirt. An short apron sat on her hips. She smiled her blackened lips. Her eyes were shockingly purple. With a notepad and a pencil in hand, she greeted everyone.

“Hello, my name is Rose and I'll be helping you all today.” She said. Noticing Dave, her eyes lit up. “Oh hey Dave. How's it going?”

“s'all right.” Dave replied.

Karkat noticed that he didn't take off his sun glasses once inside. It made him irrationally angry.

“Can you please get me the usual?” Dave asked with a smile.

Rose went around and got everyone's orders. The mayor asked for a burger with a diet coke and Karkat ordered a bowl of tomato soup with water. Rose finished jotting everything down before she smiled and left. The group sat in a short silence before Karkat cleared his throat.

“Alright,” Karkat started. “So we’re here to discuss business matters. I didn’t expect you to bring a guest but we’ll just roll with it.”

“Yo, don’t diss the Mayor. He’s my bro.” Dave responded, protectively. The mayor smiled.

“Alright. I hope you don’t mind discussing business matters in front of your genetically similar housemate.” Karkat said, pulling out papers.

“Nah, it’s cool.” Dave replied.

Karkat couldn’t help grimace. What a douche.

“So Mr. Anders has allowed us to use space in his gallery for you to display your paintings.” Karkat said.

“What address is this gallery?” Dave questioned.

“Does that really matter?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m asking.”

Karkat sighed heavily. “115 Windows Road, Port Jefferson. I think. Why?”

Dave scrunched up his face. “No. Can’t do it there.” He said.

“Wait, why? What?”

“That guy is a major tool.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You have to be pulling my fucking leg. There is no way you are seriously telling me that you, Strider, will not do business with someone because you think that he is a "tool".”

“That is exactly what I am telling you. Also, call me Dave god dammit.”

Karkat closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and groaned.

“Dave has his reasons, probably. You should trust him.” The mayor spoke up.

“Thank you, Mayor.”

“Can you PLEASE just do me the favor and work with me here?” Karkat hissed.

The waitress sauntered back and placed down the drinks. The bemused look on her face made Karkat blush again. He had been doing that a lot recently.

“The food will be out soon, guys.” She said. Her coy smile persisted until she turned and walked away. Once she was far enough away, Dave was the one to speak.

“That guy’s really not cool. I wouldn’t do business with him.” Dave said.

“This is a good opportunity for you Strider.” Karkat insisted.

“DAVE. D-a-v-e, and no, I refuse to work with him. It’s for the best.”

“I just...I" Karkat trailed off feeling suddenly winded. His chest expanded. "You're making it so hard to work with you. I know what i'm doing. You just...YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT’S “THE BEST” FOR YOU, DAVE.” Karkat’s heart pounded in his chest.

Dave sat, mouth slightly agape. He sat like this for a good moment, shocked. Then, without a word, he closed his mouth, stood up and walked out the door. The Mayor’s eyes were wide, but he sat still. Karkat began to unwind. Looking around he saw everyone’s eyes on him. Tears welled up in his eyes, he was so embarrassed and frustrated. He bit his lip.

“Hey," The mayor spoke. "Go talk to Dave.”

Karkat looked up. The mayor had become calm again.

“Hurry up boy, he’s going to leave.” The mayor spoke again.

Karkat clenched his jaw and got up. Walking quickly, he made it to the door in time to see Dave get into a nice looking car. Karkat jogged over. “Dave wait.” He called. Dave climbed into his car. Karkat accidently let out a growl as he sped up. He had to apologize. Running through a row of cars, he called out to Dave, again. Frustration welled up in his chest.

In another step he felt sudden pressure on his side. The pressure turned into pain as the left side of him skidded across the gravel. For a moment, all he could hear was his heart beat. He couldn’t think. He blinked. Both of his sides hurt him now. A car door slammed shut. A man cursed and he thought he heard Dave’s voice. Everything sounded like he was under water. Another car’s door shut and a shadow blocked out the sun. He wanted to turn and look but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move at all.

Karkat felt his body turn over. A sharp pang shot through his head. A man stood above him, blocking out the sun. Dave was at Karkat’s side. His stupid glasses were almost falling off his face. He was such a douche.

“What the fuck.” Dave yelled to Karkat. Karkat blinked and slowly lifted his body off the ground. What happened? He looked to his right and saw a car a few feet away, behind the stranger. The man was cursing and wore a worried look. Karkat began to put together what was happening. He winched. His whole left side pulsed with pain and his hair felt cold and wet. He took his hand away from his head and examined it. His heart jumped. No. Not here. He was bleeding. In public. No, no, no, no.

Karkat looked around, wide eyed. No trolls in sight. I took him a moment to realize he was acting strange. Why did he care if anyone saw him hurt? He slowly began to calm down. He looked at Dave who looked back at him like he was crazy. Dave asked the same question as before.

“What the fuck was that?” Panic was hidden somewhere in his anger. “Holy shit you’re bleeding. I’m gonna sue your ass, buddy.” Dave was yelling at the stranger now. The guy jumped and put up his hands in defense.  


“I’m fine.” Karkat managed to say. He pulled himself off the ground, leaving Dave crouching. “Trolls are a lot more durable than humans”.

Dave stood up and put a hand on Karkat’s shoulder. “You are so fucking dumb.” He said.

Karkat spoke to the stranger and told him he was fine. No damage was done to the stranger’s car either so everything seemed fine. The stranger drove off, a little jilted. Karkat looked over to Dave now. “I’m sorry.” He said.

“No shut up. What the fuck. You’re hurt.” Dave said firmly.

“No I mean, for what I said in there. I’m just…Ugh…” Karkat sighed. “I don’t like talking about my vulnerabilities. I need your contract to go well.”

Dave was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Ok fine. I’ll put my art in that douchebag’s gallery.” He said. “Just, watch where you’re going next time before you get killed. I mean, do trolls do this often? Seriously, what the fuck. Are you guy's magnetized to danger?”

“No.” Karkat answered dryly. Then he sighed. “Thank you, Dave.”

“Do you need to go to a hospital or something?” Dave asked, quirking a brow.

“I’m fine. Just a little…gross now. Let’s go back and eat.” Karkat answered.

  


The mayor spat out his drink. “What did you do?” He asked. Karkat went into the bathroom and cleaned himself off. Rose came out with the food a few minutes later and quirked a brow at a wet Karkat, holding paper towels to his head. The food was gross. The three had light conversation before they finished, and payed the bill. Karkat faired the two good bye.

“Do you need a ride?” Dave asked.

“No,” Karkat replied. “I live close by. Thanks.”

“Ok.” Dave hummed.

The three split ways and Karkat walked home. In silence he walked down the street. He made a few turns, watching the sky and drinking in the fresh air. Down another block he cut into the woods. His place really wasn’t that far away. A few minutes through the woods, Karkat approached a tent. Opening up the tent, Karkat sat inside the tent. He took out a bottle of water from a bag. He was home.

He took out his tablet and connected to a free wifi nearby. He opened up a movie he’s seen a hundred times by now. He slipped in his headphones and got lost in the movie. Half way through his movie he noticed some light infiltrating his tent. As he picked up his eyes he saw a sight he thought he’d never see. Dave was standing at the entrance of his tent.


	3. Breaking and Entering^2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat went to retort but found he couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say to something so blatantly rude. The older man left without another word to greet another guest, leaving Karkat alone in the crowd. When Karkat came back to his senses he asked a stranger for the time. The gallery exhibits opened in twenty minutes. Looking around, Karkat spotted a few blonds but no Dave. He cursed his fate on not having a phone.

Dave stood at the entrance to Karkat’s tent. His glasses slid down his nose and he quickly adjusted them. “Is this where you live?” He asked. He entered the tent and sat down next to karkat. Karkat was speechless. He took out his ear buds and placed his tablet down. “How did...did you follow me?” Karkat croaked.

Dave quirked a brow. “Maybe.”

“Is the Mayor with you?” Karkat asked, still in shock.

“No, he's in the car.”

“Can you please leave my tent?” Karkat asked.

“Why? You saw my digs. I want to check out your pad.”

“Leave!”

Dave crawled over to the side of Karkat’s sleeping bad. He began rummaging through Karkat’s bag. “I like to do my research.” He said, pulling out a book. “You like romance novels?” He snickered. “GET YOUR FUCKING FILTHY HUMAN HANDS OFF MY JUNK AND LEAVE MY GOG DAMN TENT.” Karkat hissed. A territorial noise accidentally escaped his throat. Dave stopped and tilted his head.

“Woah, what was that sound?” He asked, bemused.

“OH MY GOD. I’M IN NO MOOD TO EXPLAIN GRUB SCHOOL BIOLOGY TO YOU. LEAVE MY HOME.” Karkat shouted.

“Listen Shouty, I’m on a reconnaissance mission,” Dave tossed the book to the side. “I need to know why my managerial bro is chillaxin' in a tent.”

”How about you leave MY FUCKING HOME OR I CALL THE COPS.” Karkat hissed.

“Good luck. I don’t see a phone anywhere.” Dave called Karkat’s bluff. He didn’t have a phone.

“Why should I trust you with my career?” Dave suddenly asked. He crawled over to Karkat. The trolls hair stood on ends. He was about to be trapped here. “Maybe I should rethink my contract. Clearly you’re bad at your job if you’re living in a tent.” Dave said, apparently amused. Karkat could feel Dave’s breath on his face. He was too close.

Karkat crawled backwards. “How can you help manage anything in this condition? I mean, where’s the bathroom?” Dave persisted after him. Karkat’s back was against the tent. His frightened form reflected in Dave’s glasses. Those stupid glasses. The rage he felt before began to surface. A loud growl escaped his throat. It was a warning. _Stay away from me_. A pungent smell caught Karkat’s attention. Dave moved his head closer.

“GET THE FUCK OUT.” Karkat snapped. He back handed Dave across his face, sending his glasses flying. Dave quickly looked at the floor and covered his eyes.

Karkat kicked Dave in the chest and got to his knees. Dave fumbled backwards and groaned. “I’M FUCKING POOR OK?” Karkat yelled. “I WASN’T ALWAYS LIKE THIS. I LIVED IN AN APARTMENT. BUT-- BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM-- A PROBLEM WITH THE WIRING. THAT’S WHAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SAID. IT BURNED DOWN…AND NOW I…I live in a tent….and I’m broke…I lived in my car before this but I’m losing that too now…” Tears of frustration welled up in Karkat’s eyes. “I need your contract so I can get my car back, ok? I’m decent at my job. I’m trying to get back on my feet.” Dave kept his hand over his eyes as he sat back up, frowning. Karkat continued. “Did that satisfy your curiosity? Can you leave me alone now?”

Dave sat very still. Karkat huffed. The tears in his eyes were dangerously close to spilling over, but he'd never cry in front of anyone. Tension had built up in his shoulders. Under the frustration was an anger building, hot and furious. He was ready to fight if he needed to. “Well?” Karkat spoke.

“I need my glasses….” Dave murmured.

Karkat was baffled. “Get out of my tent!”

“Not without my glasses!” Dave insisted.

“Oh my fucking gog. Nobody gives a shit about your weird red eyes.”

Dave flinched. “You saw them?” He asked.

“Yea, why?”

Dave guardedly took his hand away from his face. He lifted his chin and the red in his eyes shone, even in the dim light. He bit his lip. “No one’s supposed to see them.” He murmured. Turning, he began searching for his glasses again. Upon finding them, he placed them back on. “I’m sorry.” He said. He faced away from Karkat. “I’m a little drunk.”  
“I’ll leave you alone. If you ever need a place to stay you can sleep in my spare bedroom.” Dave fished through his pocket and pulled out something small and tossed it to Karkat. Karkat caught the object and opened his clenched fist. It was a key. “That’s to my apartment.” Dave said, as he crawled out to leave. “If you ever need it.”  
Just as he entered he was gone. Karkat quickly closed up his tent and huddled into a corner. He sat staring at the door for some time until he felt like he could relax again. He slept restlessly that night. In the morning he was a mess but he still had to go to work. 

  
  
  
  


Karkat had been keeping track of the days. 6 days had gone by so far. That was an additional $30.00. The price was now $170.00. Karkat groaned as he closed out of the ATM. His pay check had came in but it was slightly over $100.00. Karkat had other expenses to worry about besides his car. He needed food, transportation, and the occasional social cash he had to pay because of his job. His endeavours felt hopeless.

Back upstairs Karkat decided to email Strider. His instincts were telling him to stay away from this human. He was dangerous. Strider was considered likeable by other humans. His physical appearance and personality appealed to them. Karkat would still be physically stronger in a fight, even though Strider was muscular. The real issue was that other humans would want to help strider, even if he was a douche. Karkat could be easily outnumbered. That was the worst case scenario.

Karkat decided last night that he would have to stay with this human until he sold art work. By then, Karkat would be assigned a new client. He could easily drop Strider. Karkat sat in front of his computer and typed out a new email:

  
  
  


Dear Dave Strider,

We should discuss which of your artwork you'd like to display in the gallery. On your next free availability we'll go to the gallery together and check out the space you've been given. I've been told it should fit at least four paintings. Our deadline to situate everything will be by the end of next week. I'm aware that this is soon but this was the best availability. Email me back when you settle a date we can check out the Gallery.  
-Signed, Karkat Vantas.

  
  
  


Three days later Karkat met Dave at the gallery. The blond arrived carrying a bundle of paintings under his arm. He had already picked which he wanted to sell. Karkat was surprised but took the paintings off of Dave’s hands. Dave avoided eye contact.

Once inside the gallery, Mr. Anders greeted them. He was a heavier set man with dark bags under his eyes. Karkat extended his hand and Mr. Anders took it eagerly. Mr. Anders then turned to Dave. Dave placed hid his hands inside his pockets and turned his head away. The blond told the older man he didn’t shake hands. Mr. Ander’s smiled wearily and turned back to talk to Karkat.  
Once the planning was done, Mr. Ander’s took the paintings from Karkat. All three males went into a back room where Mr. Ander’s laid the paintings out, side by side, on a long table. All four paintings were of different women.

The first painting was of the upper front half of a woman with long red hair. She was curvaceous with tattoos. The feature that stood out was that her face was smeared off. It looked as if someone just took their hand to the wet painting and swiped across it. The woman’s skin was flushed. Her freckled shoulders reminded Karkat of spots. The next painting was of the back of a small woman with black hair. A golden bed sheet was drooping from one shoulder onto the ground. The painting was simple and vivid. Karkat recognized the girl in the next painting. It was the troll he had seen at Dave’s door. The painting was had a blurry look to it. It captured from the top of her horns to her upper bust. She had flowers woven through her hair. Her eyes were closed and her blood color tinted her cheeks. The painting made Karkat feel happy for some reason. The last picture was another painting of the back of a woman. She sat on a balcony in broad daylight, completely nude. Her hair was in a bun. A large dragon tattoo covered most of her back.

Mr. Anders approved the paintings and that ended the meeting. Karkat and Dave waved each other good bye. Dave avoided eye contact. On the way home, Karkat thought about the day. Even though logically things were going well, he still felt something weird was going on. There were no surprise drunk visitors at Karkat’s tent. He slept soundly that night.  
As the week persisted on, the date of the Gallery showing came closer. The day before the gallery showing, Karkat sent Dave an email.

  
  
  


Dear Dave Strider,

As you know, the gallery showing is tomorrow. I’m sure you’re as excited about this as I am. I’ll be there to lend my support as well as to act as your manager. I’ll see you tomorrow at 5.

-Signed, Karkat Vantas 

  
  
  


The next day Karkat dressed professionally. He wore a black collared shirt along with black slacks. Around his neck he wore a white tie. He was ready. Before he left for the gallery, Karkat pulled out his tablet. No new emails.

Karkat arrived at the gallery early. As he pulled up in his cab he saw people were already gathering. Karkat paid the driver and stepped out. Once out, he tried to spot Dave. It looked as though the blond hadn’t arrived yet. Mr. Anders approached Karkat and greeted him with a handshake.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Vantas.” Mr. Ander’s greeted.  
“Hello again, Mr. Anders.” Karkat smiled.  
“The people are already starting to line up, it seems.”  
“I’m excited to see how today pans out.”  
“As am I, Vantas.”

A silence passed between the two. Karkat spoke. “It looks like the word got out about D. Strider.”

“Your boy?” Mr. Ander’s blew air from his nose. “Let’s just hope his work doesn’t offend anyone.”

“What do you mean?” Karkat questioned.

“Lets be honest here. You and I both know that boy has no talent. He’s nothing compared to the other artists in the gallery.” Mr. Anders chuckled. “You know, I owed you the favor this time, Vantas, but I’d never let someone of his talent in this gallery under normal circumstances. It was difficult for me to accept his paintings, to say the least. Especially the one of the troll. Trolls don't belong in oils. No offense to you.”

Karkat went to retort but found he couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say to something so blatantly rude. Mr. Anders left without another word to greet another guest, leaving Karkat alone in the crowd. When Karkat came back to his senses he asked someone for the time. The gallery exhibits opened in twenty minutes. Looking around, Karkat spotted a few blonds but no Dave. He cursed his fate on not having a phone.

Ten minutes till the exhibits opened. A familiar looking car pulled up to the front and Karkat felt himself relax. He went to go greet Dave until he noticed an unfamiliar person climb out of the car. This wasn't him. Karkat went into his briefcase and pulled out Dave's information. After spying his number he asked a stranger for his phone for a moment. The stranger complied.  
A few rings later and Karkat got the answering machine. Dave's douchy voice responded. Karkat cursed. He handed the phone back to the stranger and thanked him. The troll only had one option. He had to go to Dave's house.

  
  
  


It took Karkat half an hour to get to Dave's apartment. Karkat flew up the steps and reached Dave's door. He knocked on it to no answer. Karkat knocked again. No answer. Karkat would have to resort to something he was uncomfortable with. He took out his wallet and took out his credit card. From there it took a moment before he jimmied the lock.

The building was silent, from the room ahead of him to the hall behind. Karkat called Dave's name now. No response. Slowly, he crept inside. Everything seemed in place. Nobody was in the living room. Karkat explored the apartment.

Off the side of the apartment was an open door. It was a bathroom. Karkat moved aside the ducky shower curtain. Nobody but a yellow rubber duck and an unlit cigarette. Karkat narrowed his eyes. What was that duck up to? It couldn't be anything but trouble.

On the other side of the living room was the kitchen. Karkat peaked around the long counter that divided the living room from the kitchen. Nothing. The kitchen was completely spotless. Karkat wondered if Dave had ever cooked here at all.

Down the hall Dave peered into the next room. This was the bedroom he had seen into before. Karkat was taken back. The painting across from him, the one of the red blooded female troll, was slashed. It wasn't just this painting though. The whole room was wrecked. The inside was a mess. The other paintings were scattered around, broken, or ripped. Dave needed to be found.

The last room in the apartment was the door on the other side of the guest bedroom. It must have been Dave's room. The door was shut. No sounds came from the room. Karkat knocked first. Then he knocked again, a little louder. “Dave?” He called. No answer. The knob didn't turn. The door was locked. Karkat jimmied the lock again and peaked on the other side of the door. The room here was cluttered. There wasn't an inch of wall space behind all the posters, stickers, and pictures. Karkat thought he even saw a sword. Opening the door wider he walked into the room.

Dave was here, hanging off the bed half naked. His torso was sprawled on the floor and his legs were on the bed. Karkat hurried over. He knelt by his side and tried shaking him. “Hey!” He yelled. No response. “GET UP.” Karkat yelled. Dave groaned. Karkat smacked him hard across his face. “WAKE THE FUCK UP, ASSHOLE.” He yelled.

Dave's eyes shot open. They were blood shot, making his eyes appear almost completely red. Karkat grimaced. Dave looked really freaky. He just stared at Karkat, pale faced and silent. His eyes moved and stared into Karkat's. He licked his chapped lips.

“Um....” Karkat was speechless now.

“...”

“GET THE FUCK UP.” Karkat's voice cracked.

“...How did you get into my room...”

Karkat smacked his palm against his forehead.

“THIS ISN'T THE TIME. TIME. DO YOU SEE THE FUCKING TIME? YOU STUPID FUCKING NOOKSNIFFER. “

“Mmhh-what?”

“WE'RE LATE.”

“...Oh...OH...Like...Late late.”

“OH MY GOD. YOU'RE ON SOMETHING, AREN'T YOU?”

“Somethings. I'm on somethings.” Dave corrected. He began chuckling.

Karkat looked at the time. The exhibits opened half an hour ago. Karkat had one hope right now. He spied Dave's phone on the bedside table and snatched it. Typing in a number, he waited for the troll to answer. Karkat greeted the female troll. “Vriska, this is Karkat. I need a favor.”


	4. Love, Dave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Where do you get this shit from?” Dave laughed hoarsely. Karkat continued, unfazed.
> 
> “THEY LOWER MY CORPSE BOX INTO THE GROUND, TO FEED THE STARVED DIRT NOODLES, AND SHARE A PRAYER. “DEAR GOG, PLEASE PITY THIS POOR STUPID TROLL. HE HAS NO FRIENDS AND IS POOR AS SHIT.” IT’S BEEN LIKE THIS EVER SINCE I WAS HATCHED. EVER SINCE I WAS A WRIGGLER MY LUSUS USE TO COMPAIN, “WHY CAN’T YOU HAVE A NICE MOIRAIL LIKE THE OTHER LOW BLOODS? SOLLUX HAS A NICE MOIRAIL.” I DON’T GIVE A SHIT, YOU’RE NOT EVEN MY REAL LUSUS!”
> 
> “Woah...”  
> .  
> .  
> .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry the update was a little late. I'm thinking of changing the update times to Monday and Thursday night, so basically they'll be up by the morning. Anyway, hope you enjoy. The next update is Monday night, so I'll see you soon.

“YOU CAN’T LET ME HAVE ONE DAY OF SOLACE, CAN YOU?” Karkat grumbled, pulling Dave up by his chest. The blond’s legs fell from the bed with a thud. “YOU JUST HAVE TO BE THE BIGGEST DOUCHE BAG IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, AND GET DRUNK OR BE ON DRUGS AT THE WORST TIMES. WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?” Karkat hoisted Dave up so that he was on his feet.

“My therapist said I never had a motherly figure.” Dave mumbled. The blond’s heavy body slumped against Karkat’s, almost knocking the smaller body over.

“DAVE. SHUT UP.” Karkat hissed. Now leaning against the troll, Dave’s wobbling frame stood straight. Karkat steadied the blond. He didn’t have time for this, Dave needed to get dressed.

Karkat let go of Dave experimentally. When Dave stood freely, the troll went over to the dresser and searched for anything decent looking. Every piece of clothing was stuffed into the dresser and wrinkled. Karkat doubted they had ever been folded. Karkat sighed heavily. This man needed an authoritative figure. Karkat brought the clothes over to Dave and handed them over. “Put this on.” He ordered. Dave groaned and started undressing. Karkat let out a breath of relief.

“Now, I’M GOING TO GET YOU SOME WATER. DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID UNTIL I GET BACK.” Karkat said, leaving the room. Dave mumbled something through the shirt fabric over his head and fell onto the floor. Once in the kitchen, Karkat found the cups and placed one under the faucet. When the cup was full karkat turned off the faucet and turned around. Karkat grimaced.

Dave stood in the living room completely naked. Karkat sighed heavily and left the kitchen. As he passed the counter, one thing stood out. Dave was fully erect. This situation could’ve been funny in another circumstance. Maybe if this was a comedy and not real life it would’ve maybe even been ok. A fully grown man only wearing sun glasses, doped out on whatever, while brandishing a third leg. Holy shit was this thing huge. Karkat looked away but his eyes were drawn back. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of the blond’s massive penis. Dave’s penis was like a horrific accident. Karkat wasn’t trying to flatter the human. This bulge was simply horrifying. This phallus was probably the size of his forearm. Dave could probably take, go fuck yourself, literally.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT, DAVE?” Karkat asked warily.

“Karkat I need help.” Dave urged, desperation clear in his tone.

“ARE YOU OK?”

“I need you to fuck me.”

There it is. Karkat knew Dave was going to say something mind-numbingly stupid, even for him. Of all the stupidest things to ever happen to the troll, this took the metaphorical cake. Karkat briefly wondered where he went wrong. Was this actually happening? Could something this absurd be reality, and not another one of his terrible nightmares? No, Karkat’s brain could never even dream up something so cruel. This was something he couldn’t make up. The troll put his hand on his hip and raised his brows.

“WHAT I ACTUALLY NEED IS FOR YOU TO GET DRESSED.” Karkat responded calmly.

“Bro, my dick is on fire.”

“I’M LITERALY GOING TO SET YOU ON FIRE, “BRO”.”

“Karkat please.”

Karkat’s blood began to boil in a familiar way. He couldn’t remember a time he had ever felt so angry, and yet this reaction felt right to him. One more push and Karkat would be forced over the edge. He had to try to relax.

“NO, JUST—" Karkat stopped and talked through gritted teeth. "Put your clothes on…”

“Karkat please I’m so horny-“

Karkat let out a loud, primal scream and slammed his head into the wall. His entire face was bright red. A crack was left in the wall from the impact. Baring his teeth, Karkat snarled before screaming at the top of his lungs, “PUT ON SOME FUCKING CLOTHES!!!”

Dave scrambled for a brief moment, slipping over his own feet and falling over. He picked himself up and ran into the room. Karkat felt his eye twitching again. When Dave was fully dressed he was a mess. Karkat had to redo all his buttons and slipped a belt onto he slacks, all while avoiding the blond’s boner. After Dave’s hair was brushed, and his breath smelled fresh, karkat finished by spraying him with whatever god awful male scent he owned. Dave, smoothed out around the edges, didn’t look terrible. He was alright. Karkat packed him into his car and hopped in the driver’s seat. With that, they were off to the gallery.

Karkat took a deep breath and went off to no one in general. “I MUST BE THE STUPIDEST TROLL ON THE PLANET.” He said. “GOG, EVER SINCE I STARTED THIS STUPID FUCKING JOB MY LIFE HAS BEGAN TO SWIRL DOWN THE LOAD GAPER.”

“The what?” Dave murmured, groggily rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

“HERE I AM, FLIPPING THE FUCK OUT OVER A HUMAN. PRACTICALLY FROTHING AND CONVULSING ON THE FLOOR. ON LOOKERS STOP AND GAWK. “LOOK AT THE SILLY TROLL,” A HUMAN CHILD TUGS ON HER ALPHA AUTHORITATIVE FIGURE’S SLEEVE. “HE’S DYING ON THE OUTSIDE TO MATCH HIS INSIDE!” WELL FEAST YOUR EYES, THE SHOW’S NOT OVER YET.”

“Where do you get this shit from?” Dave laughed hoarsely. Karkat continued, unfazed.

“THEY LOWER MY CORPSE BOX INTO THE GROUND, TO FEED THE STARVED DIRT NOODLES, AND SHARE A PRAYER. “DEAR GOG, PLEASE PITY THIS POOR STUPID TROLL. HE HAS NO FRIENDS AND IS POOR AS SHIT.” IT’S BEEN LIKE THIS EVER SINCE I WAS HATCHED. EVER SINCE I WAS A WRIGGLER MY LUSUS USE TO COMPAIN, “WHY CAN’T YOU HAVE A NICE MOIRAIL LIKE THE OTHER LOW BLOODS? SOLLUX HAS A NICE MOIRAIL.” I DON’T GIVE A SHIT, YOU’RE NOT EVEN MY REAL LUSUS!”

“Woah there...”

“WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? KEEP IMBIBING CONTAINERS OF SCALDING HOT LEAF FLUID UNTIL I’M “TAME” ENOUGH TO WORK IN AN OFFICE?”

“You mean tea?”

“SHOULD I LET MY DISMAY FLUID LEAK FROM MY LOOKSTUBS UNTIL THEY SHRIVEL UP AS I SCREECH AT FULL VOLUME ONTO THE HEAVENS UNTIL MY BLOW SACK IMPLODES? IT’S NOT LIKE I’LL EVER BE HAPPY. NO TROLL WITH HALF OF A BRAIN WOULD BE MY MATESPRIT. THE ONLY WAY I’D EVER GET PAILED WAS IF I DID IT MYSELF WITH MY OWN BULGE. I AM A DISGRACE TO MY ANCESTORS AND EVERY TROLL EVER.”

“Your “bulge”?” Dave snorted.

“WHY WAS I EVEN HATCHED? TO STUMBLE UPON YOUR COMMUNAL HIVE STEM? TO GAPE AT THE RIDICULOUS HORSE BULGE OF YOUR BANNANA HAMMACK? MY THINK PAN’S FRIED. LOOK AT ME, I’M PRACTICLLY DOING A PIROUETTE OFF OF A ONE WHEELED DEVICE!”

“How did I get in my car?”

Dave strapped on his seat belt and brushed hair to the side. Pulling down the visor, he checked his image and frowned. He quickly closed the visor and turned to Karkat. “Where’re we going Karkat?” He asked.

“You’re really something special.” Karkat responded.

“The gallery...” Dave fell back into the seat, suddenly sober.

“Yea.” Karkat sucked on his teeth.

Dave ran his hand under his glasses, covered his face and cursed.

“I’m sorry.” Dave mumbled. “I was nervous.”

“What kind of drugs did you take?” Karkat asked dryly.

“Downers.”

“Are you like that often?”

“It depends on what I take.”

“You need an authoritarian figure in your life.”

“…A what?”

“A lus—genetically similar human guardian. I don’t want to have to worry about you, asshole. You’re ruining your life.”

“Karkat…are you trying to tell me you care about me?”

“I wouldn’t call it that. I just kind of…pity you, I guess? It’s hard to explain. You’re a sorry excuse for a bipedal sapient mammal.”

“I love you too Karkat <3”

“NO! This is not the meaning of which I was trying to convey whatsoever.”

The car pulled into the gallery and parked in the front. Karkat turned off the car.

“Get the fuck out of the car.” Karkat said, sternly.

“Yes sir!” Dave smiled. Karkat groaned in disgust.

The two walked into the gallery. The hall was packed out with people ranging in different ages. Karkat scanned the room for a familiar face. In a sea of humans, the troll shouldn’t have been hard to miss. She was a tall, blue blooded troll, after all. A slender finger tapped karkat on the shoulder. The troll found him first. Karkat turned around. A tall troll stood behind him. The female wore a knee length skirt with tights and Mary Janes. Her soft looking sweater slightly over lapped her skirt. Under her sweater was a collared shirt and a necklace shaped into her zodiac symbol. Her long black hair had been tied into a bun. She grasped a briefcase at her side. She gave Karkat a stern look through her large glasses.

“You are l8.” She said.

“I got caught up.”

“No excuses! As a professional you must always 8e prepared for the worst. Lucky for you I am a very professional 8usiness woman, unlike some people.”  
“Thanks for helping me, Vriska.” Karkat replied.

“You’re welcome. Oh Karkat, where would you 8e without me? Probably dead somewhere, don’t you agree?”

“If I have to spend any more time listening to you ramble, I’ll wish I was dead.”

“You’re just as cheerful as always I see. Anyway I’ll take my leave. All my irons are in the fire. 8efore I leave I should tell you I got you a few Email addresses.”

Vriska handed Karkat a sheet of paper from her brief case.

“Call me if you need any more favors. Bye!”

Vriska waved and left the building. Dave whistled.

“Who was that?” He asked.

“A friend I guess.” Karkat waved to Dave. “Let’s go check out your exhibit.”

Dave’s paintings took a good portion of a wall in the back of the gallery. A few people were examining the paintings as the two approached the area. Some people gave the painting a passing glace, and some people strolled past the paintings entirely. Dave nodded his head and smiled. “It looks professional.” He commented. Karkat sighed. “You’re supposed to be a professional.”

The two watched the people examining the exhibit. A few people took a picture of the painting of the troll girl, to Dave’s delight. “I should totally go up to the paintings and ask what people think of it. They would sing their praises like church choir. Like a ninja, I would be all incognito. They’d never know I was the one who painted them. Then I’d tell them and they’d freak out and I’d be all, ‘nah brah, it’s coo. I’m not all famous and stuck up. I’m a regular guy’. I’d be legit as fuck”.

Karkat laughed. “You’re so weird.”

Two hours passed. By now, Karkat had already gotten a few emails from interested businessmen and collectors. He decided to pack up. Tomorrow he would send out emails to the interested buyers and hope for the best. Karkat glanced up and saw Dave chatting up people next to his paintings. He couldn’t help but smile.

Dave drove home this time. He talked excitedly about the people he met. After a moment of silence he asked Karkat if he needed a room for the night. Karkat politely declined. Dave turned around and drove Karkat to the woods near his home to drop him off. Dave pulled over and let Karkat out. He reminded the troll the room was still open, whenever he needed it. That night Karkat fell into a deep sleep. Even though his nightmares persisted, Karkat got a deep sleep.

In the morning at his office, Karkat emailed a few of the interested clients. The hours ticked away. After lunch break, Karkat received 1 new email. Karkat smiled ear to ear. After reading the message Karkat opened a new email. He had to message Dave.

  
  
  


Dear Dave,

I’m messaging you with great news! I received an email today from a woman who would like to buy one of your paintings. Please message me back as soon as possible.

Signed, Karkat

  
  
  


Within a moment, Karkat received a message back,

  
  
  


Dear Karkat,

OMG. Email me the details I’m so hype. We need to go out tonight to celebrate. When do you get out?

Love, Dave

  
  
  


Karkat bit his lip and wrote back.  
  
  
  
Dear Dave,

A woman named Cecilia Brenard wants to buy the painting of the curvaceous woman with her face whipped away. I believed it was an untitled work. Mrs. Brenard wants it for a Woman’s abuse center. It’s actually a pretty cool way to look into the painting, I think. Any way I get out at 6 today.

Signed Karkat

  
  
  


A moment later, another email appeared.

  
  
  


Dear Karkat,

I’s a date, I’ll pick you up around 6.

Love, Dave


	5. Fun and Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave turned up the volume in his car. The muted music became louder. An unfamiliar song came up with a few human males rapping. Dave knew the song. He rapped along with them on a few lines. Karkat noticed the music sounded a lot different from the music on the radio. This band must either be underground or old. Dave stopped rapping and a wicked smile crossed his lips.  
> “Hey Karkat,” Dave asked playfully. “Ever tried rapping?” Rose chuckled.  
> “No. Do I look like the kind of person who raps?” Karkat replied.  
> “No, but you look like the kind of person who's willing to try new things.” Dave stopped at a red light and turned down the music all the way. “I'll give you a beat.” Dave put his hands together and began beat boxing. Karkat's hair stood on end.  
> “Hey, the light could change any second. You should be driving.” Karkat said.  
> Dave continued. “Not until you rap.” He said between beats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some dubious consent going on in this chapter. I may change it if I feel it's necessary. Anyway I figured I'd say this as a ****TRIGGER**** warning for the consent issue. I don't want to go and upset anyone. I'm not sure how the character will handle it im the next chapter, so that's why i'm not tagging it yet. So this is the warning. It's get's a mature here.

[](http://imgur.com/J7dLsIV)

The sheets rustled. He tasted salty and bitter. The smell of sweet smoke clung in the air. Claws lightly brushed skin, his touch was cold. The hairs on his arm stood on end. A shiver flooded down his back. He couldn’t see anything except those bright eyes. Those hypnotic eyes.

A song floated through the humid room. It was something like a Hindu song with guitar solos. Whatever it was, it was intoxicating. It didn’t matter what they said. The other one seemed to like it too. He moved slowly, at the music’s pace. Karkat loved it. He was so exotic, so handsome. Karkat wanted to touch him. He reached a hand out, brushed his cheek, but the other didn’t like that. He growled, reminded him he didn’t want a physical attachment. Karkat sighed and took back his hand. Closed his eyes. His head swam. It didn’t matter what he was saying, he was just intoxicating.

Clothing was shed, Karkat felt vulnerable. Nobody had ever seen this much of his skin. The other one let out a growl that sent shivers down Karkat's spine. It was a territorial sound, like he was about to be eaten alive. It made his heart pound. He felt himself unsheathe, breathing was suddenly a chore. The other's lips closed in on his, again. Karkat chirred and he laughed into his lips.

Karkat could feel his arousal between his legs. It licked around his nook and sent a strange feeling though his chest. He began wondering if these were his actions. The drinks had done something crazy to Karkat's brain. He had never been so impulsive. It mixed him up something fierce.

Karkat pushed on his broad chest. The other responded by spitting out fiery words. It took Karkat a moment to realized he was insulting him. Hissing about blood color. The stranger called him a mutant and laughed about it, while he stroked his grub scars. Karkat felt his power diminishing. He looked away from him and dove deeper into his pleasure. Absentmindedly, Karkat's thumb brushed against his palm and he realized it was sticky. He must have rubbed off a part of the other troll's face paint.

The large troll hovered over him. Between Karkat's legs, a burning sensation cut him in half. He hissed. The other troll pushed in deeper. Karkat bared his teeth, trying to intimidate. The other troll lifted one of Karkat's legs and placed his mouth on Karkat's neck and bit down. Karkat's hands grasped for the sheets. He couldn't breathe.

Light filtered into the dark room. The larger troll stopped moving and let go of his neck. He let out a low, threatening growl from his chest. Karkat could feel the rumble and shrunk away into the sheets. Karkat's reddening eyes wandered to the open door and he could see a figure standing there. The figure hesitantly stepped closer. Karkat's eyes focused. The human's red eyes stared into his. Dave stood in the open doorway. He yelled and charged towards the bed.

.

.

.

It was 6:00 outside of the Ashe Inc. building. Outside the sun was a nice yellow, and a pleasant breeze accompanied the cloudless sky. Karkat sat on a bench outside the building. It still surprised him that it was bright at this time. Last winter it would be pitch black by the time it was 7. However in the summer the sun stayed out longer to warm the earth. Tonight was a good night to go drinking.

The troll's mind wandered. He had never been to a bar. In fact, Karkat doubted he had ever even had alcohol. He wondered how alcohol would affect a troll, if they even drank it.

A nice car pulled up to the front of the building. Karkat's reflection was caught in the passenger window as it rolled down. Dave smiled from the driver side. “Hey Babe, what're your rates?” He asked.

Karkat rolled his eyes and hopped into the car. The cool air welcomed him along with the smell of leather. A girl was in the back seat. He recognized her from the cafe he and Dave had gone not to long ago. Her name escaped him though. “Hey, it's good to see you again.” Karkat smiled. She smiled back, eyes crinkling.

“It's nice to see you again too, Karkat.” She responded. Karkat turned back and buckled himself in. He suddenly felt awkward.

Dave pulled out of the building. “You bitches ready to get your drink on?” He asked.

“Where are we going?” Karkat asked.

“There's a nice bar around the corner I thought I'd show you.” Dave replied.

“It's a good spot to pick up loose party goers.” The girl said coyly from the back seat.

“That is not the purpose of tonight, Rose.” Dave reprimanded. “We are going to be the loose partyers tonight.”

“Maybe you are. I'm going to pick up a hot date.” Rose responded.

“You cheeky whore.” Dave laughed.

Rose laughed lightly in the back. “You shouldn't be talking.”

Dave turned up the volume in his car. The muted music became louder. An unfamiliar song came up with a few human males rapping. Dave knew the song. He rapped along with them on a few lines. Karkat noticed the music sounded a lot different from the music on the radio. This band must either be underground or old. Dave stopped rapping and a wicked smile crossed his lips.

“Hey Karkat,” Dave asked playfully. “Ever tried rapping?” Rose chuckled.

“No. Do I look like the kind of person who raps?” Karkat replied.

“No, but you look like the kind of person who's willing to try new things.” Dave stopped at a red light and turned down the music all the way. “I'll give you a beat.” Dave put his hands together and began beat boxing. Karkat's hair stood on end.

“Hey, the light could change any second. You should be driving.” Karkat said.

Dave continued. “Not until you rap.” He said between beats.

“Uh...Um...yo yo. I got money in...all of my pockets and... attractive females at my sides.. uh...”

The light turned green. Dave stopped beat boxing and grabbed the wheel. He laughed until someone beeped the horn and he stepped on the gas. Karkat couldn't see behind him but he was sure Rose was laughing as well, just silently.

“Oh my god, Karkat. That was terrible.” Dave said, practically in tears. “Your face is so red right now. Oh my god. I'm going to have to teach you how to rap.”

“OR YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE COULD JUST NOT AND SAY WE DID.” Karkat replied gruffly.

“No no, we have to,” Dave turned into a parking lot. “But we're here so it'll have to wait.”

Karkat unstrapped and got out of the car. The small brick building's sign read, “The Dark Carnival”. The name seemed to spark a reaction in Karkat. He didn't think the place looked remarkably sleazy but he was suddenly nervous. This feeling almost felt like Déjà vu. Karkat shook off the sinking feeling. He could ignore something mental but physically he began to feel queazy.

The place looked pretty simple on the outside. The building was two stories tall. The top story seemed to be an apartment. The bottom story had two large windows with an ornate red door between them. The only other things in front were a bench and a trashcan.

Dave turned off the car and walked up to Karkat. Rose soon followed.

“My friend's brother owns this place.” Dave told Karkat. “If he's here I’ll introduce you.”

The three walked through the bright red door and entered The Dark Carnival. The inside of the bar was dimly lit. The inside of the building had a modern design. The bar itself was sleek and black. Tables were to the right of the bar and a couch clung to the back wall on a raised level. The walls were a dark purple color with gold paneling in some spots. Round hanging lights hung from the ceiling. The place was moderately full of a mixture of trolls and humans.

Dave walked over to the bar with Rose and Karkat followed. Karkat hopped up on a stool next to Dave, who sat himself next to Rose. Dave picked up a menu and turned to Karkat. “I'm going to get white girl wasted.” He smiled. Karkat grimaced slightly at that implication. “Rose is going to be the DD, so feel free to go nuts. Your first drink is on me, naturally.”

Karkat picked up a menu and read through some of the drinks. He had no idea what to get or if he could even drink alcohol. “What are you getting?” He asked Dave.

“I'm going to start with something light. A Long Island Ice tea sounds good. What about you?”

“I haven't decided.” Karkat said, pretending to be focused into the plastic.

Karkat felt a just of wind next to him and heard someone grumble. He glanced over to see a troll had sat down next to him. The troll picked up a menu.

“Hey, you.” Karkat whispered to the troll. The troll glanced over in his direction, questioningly.

“Yea?” He asked. His voice was incredibly gruff.

“What's good in this hovel?” Karkat asked.

“Try Faygo.” The troll answered and looked back at the menu.

Karkat looked at the Menu. He had never tried any kind of Soda before. He wasn't sure if he was interested in a sugary drink. However if the other troll was ordering something similar, maybe it was worth a try. Karkat read through the menu's soda options.

The bar tender talked to Dave first and greeted him warmly by name. Dave ordered his Litea before asking Karkat what he wanted. Karkat decided on the Red Pop! Flavor. The bar tender went to Rose next. Karkat got his drink first. The drink sort of looked like bubbly red water. He picked up the cup and smelled the liquid first. The liquid fizzed and the bubbles popped lightly on his nose, and lightly stung his eyes. The liquid smelled like cherry. Karkat wondered if this was actually nontoxic. The sound of Dave's light laughter caught his attention.

“Dude, you're drinking Soda?” He asked, amused. The bar tender handed him his drink. “We don't need another DD. Come on, I wanted to celebrate with someone.”

“I figured I'd try this repellent hissing drink and see where the night takes me.” Karkat replied.

“Alright, but I want to see a drunk Karkat by the end of the night, ok?”

Dave took a sip of his drink. Karkat raised the glass to his lips and took a test sip. The liquid was almost unbearably sweet. Karkat puckered his lips and placed the glass down. The after taste wasn't terrible though. Every breath he inhaled tasted like cherries.

“So Karkat,” Dave started. “You were adopted?”

“Who told you?” Karkat asked, brows raised.

“You did,” Dave took another sip. “In the car while you were raving and ranting.”

Karkat took another sip of the distasteful liquid.

“In human terms it is similar.” He replied. “It's a complicated process.”

“I'm a smart guy.”

“Well, I'd have to tell you about troll culture and it get's into politics afterwords. It's not that interesting.”

“Ok, well if you were to explain it to me how would you do it?”

Karkat grumbled. “Well, you mammals give live birth and your young are carried by female genetic guardians. In a troll's natural state, a colony would be formed around a mother grub. Trolls don't give birth or even carry our off-spring.” Karkat went into detail about troll reproduction at that point. He watched as Dave's face went from curious to repulsed to confused in a matter of minutes. Karkat continued from there.

“Today, however, trolls don't live in barbaric societies. Instead trolls are raised in government facilitated nurseries. Our caretakers took on the archaic term of Lusus. A troll was assigned a Lusus at birth. Once a troll reached a certain age they were trained in schools to be good citizens. Our Lusus taught us how to calm down when we're angry or upset, and formally taught trades. We were taught never to use our naturally adapted strengths to hurt. Fighting was strictly prohibited. Those of us who were deemed “calm enough” were given government jobs that we could use to branch off. Those who were violent were given manual jobs that could direct their aggression. Gifted trolls received jobs that benefited from their mutations. Nobody is killed, ever. Anyway, my original Lusus was an old troll male who looked like a crab. When he passed away I was reassigned to a human Lusus who was an asshole.”

Dave nodded his head. “I was adopted too. I suppose you could go back to that government place and find your parent grub. I don't know who my biological parents are. I was adopted by an evil rich woman. She was a total bitch.” Dave took another sip from his drink and Karkat followed suit. Karkat had gotten use to the taste.

“The interesting part about the facilitated up bringing of trolls is our relationships process.” Karkat commented.

“What does that mean?” Dave asked. Karkat smiled and began to explain troll romance and quadrants in immense detail. Dave immediately regretted his question and began drinking more. “Any way, that's how it use to work. Human's are selectively breeding trolls now, unintentionally. The more calm trolls have a more likelyhood to make genetic slurry to be collected because their housing is kept on record. So some of the quadrants that had been essential in troll culture are diminishing, like kismesis. However auspistice are becoming more common.”

“Karkat, as enthralling as your culture is, I’m going to have to drink more in order to pay attention.” Dave responded. Karkat took a swig of his soda. He had almost finished the glass by now. Dave ordered another drink, apparently stronger than the last.

“You still going to drink your infant drink?” Dave asked.

“This soda is starting to taste less horrible so I’m fine for now, thanks” Karkat replied. In fact, the drink had some sort of effect on him. It made him giddy, like he was full of energy. Karkat began to swing his legs under the bar. The bartender handed him another soda, which Karkat drunk happily.

“My brother's getting married.” Dave said. Karkat was silent for a moment.

“What does that mean?” The troll asked.

“Um, he's legally going to bind himself to somebody he's expected to love for the rest of his life and share his property with.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“It's going to be.” Dave's face was grim. He took a long sip of his new drink.

“Is he your genetically similar housemate or-”

“Yea he's related by blood. We were adopted together.”

“That's good.”

“Do trolls have siblings?” Dave asked.

“I suppose we're all partially related, but you can say that about humans too.”

“Oh. Do you have anyone, I guess, more genetically similar?”

“I was told I have a rare mutation and there have been a few others who were the same. I'm sure one of them is alive somewhere.”

Karkat took a gulp of his soda. The cup was almost empty and fizz was starting to get to his head. His body felt light. No matter what he thought about, he couldn't stop feeling good.

Dave laughed. “Dude, you have some sort of blush right now.” Karkat was surprised. Even though he was aware of the soda's effect, he didn't think he was getting drunk.

“Dude wait, come closer.” Dave asked. Confused Karkat moved closer. The blond took Karkat's face in his hands, and examined it. Karkat became hotter at the human's touch.

“Bro, you've got major frecklage going on here.” Dave pointed out.

“Excuse me?” Karkat asked.

“Freckles. I've never noticed them. They're so cute.”

Karkat pulled his face back. “I don't have freckles.” He hissed.

“Your freckles are telling me different.”

A chirr escaped Karkat's throat. Karkat jumped and covered his throat. The troll next to him looked annoyed. Dave raised a brow.

“You make a lot of weird alien noises.” He said.

“Fuck you.” Karkat hissed.

“Speaking of aliens,” Dave turned around. “I had a dream about little aliens last night.”

“Ok?”

“They were little grey men, but not like you. They have big heads and big black eyes, no hair. Anyway I had a dream that I was abducted. I as floating up a glowing beam of light and when I was on the ship, all the little aliens had red eyes. I woke up before anything else really happened. I just thought it was weird.”

Karkat took another sip of Faygo. “I just have a lot of nightmares.” He replied quietly.

“Really? That blows.” Dave replied. “Maybe you should stop eating before bed or something.”

Karkat chuckled. “No, no. It's just a troll thing. I can't control it.”

Half an hour went by. Karkat and Dave had gone through another beverage. At some point in the night a troll walked up to Dave and they began talking. When Karkat noticed the troll, another weird feeling hit him. He felt like he knew the troll, but he wasn't sure from where. The troll had long curly black hair that poofed out. His horns were long and curved. The thing that really stood out though was his face. It was oddly colored in some places. The troll noticed Karkat staring and their eyes met. For a moment there was a strange struggle, as if the other troll thought he was familiar as well. Dave turned around and broke the gaze.

“Yo, I need to introduce you to the most dope troll I’d ever know.” Dave gestured to the mystery troll. “This troll here is-” The troll cut him off. “WhAt Is Up, My InVeRtIbRoThEr?” He cut off Dave and walked straight to Karkat. Karkat sat back on the bar stool as the unknown troll got into his personal space. Up close, Karkat noticed the coloring in his face wasn't natural.

“Uh, how about you back the fuck up?” Karkat growled.

“Im SoRrY bUt WhEn YoU sEe A rAd MoThErFuCkEr LiKe YoUrSeLf ItS hArD nOt GeTtInG aLl ClOsE aNd PeRsOnAl.”

“So yea,” Dave cut in. “This is Gamzee. Gamzee this is Karkat.”

“I'm sorry but-- actually you know what? I'm not even sorry. DO YOU KNOW WHAT PERSONAL SPACE IS? BECAUSE YOU'RE IN MY PERSONAL SPACE.”

“Im AlL uP iN kNoWiNg AbOuT pErSoNaL sPaCeS aNd ShIt BrOtHeR.”

“THAN GO OVER THERE DUMB FUCK.”

“MaN, yOu GoT tO rElAx AnD jUsT tAkE iN lIfE's MiRaClEs.”

For one reason or another, hearing the word miracles sent pure hatred though Karkat's head making him dizzy. Karkat caught himself on the bar. Gamzee chuckled.

“DoNt Be AlL uP aNd GeTtInG a WiCkEd CrUsH oN mE nOw.”

“OH MY FUCKING GOG, DAVE GET YOUR STUPID FUCKING FRIEND AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I RIP HIS STUPID HEAD OFF.” Karkat shouted.

“Karkat calm down. You're being so uncool. Gamzee invited us to go upstairs and hang out with some interesting people.” Dave said.

Karkat looked away and mumbled. “My bad. That sounds fun actually.”

Dave had tried to find Rose but she had already disappeared somewhere. The three left the bar and walked around back to a door. The door lead to an upstairs apartment. The humidity hit Karkat first. Next was the light smell of smoke. The apartment was average looking and furnished with cheap furniture. Strange things were spread around in different corners. There was a pile of horns in one corner and a few juggling clubs hidden around. Strange posters hung around as well of clowns. Karkat noticed there was no air conditioner that he could see. The apartment made Karkat more uncomfortable than the sign.

A bunch of trolls sat around drinking and smoking hookah. On the couch sat a slender troll girl with long black hair and dark tattoos. Next to her was a thin sea dwelling troll with slicked back hair. Across from those two was a troll with large horns, sitting in a reclining chair. They periodically took hits of hookah. Behind the couch stood another sea troll but with short hair. She was drinking something from a bottle. On the other side of the room stood a troll girl who resembled the girl with tattoos. She stood with her arms crossed.

Upon the three entering, everyone looked up. Some of the trolls smiled and a few of them greeted Dave. Dave smiled and waved. Gamzee walked over towards the couch and took up one of the hoses inhaled. When he pulled back he exhaled thick smoke. Dave walked over towards a cooler on one side of the couch and took out a drink. Karkat caught the can. “How about you have a real drink?” He said with a smirk.

Karkat examined the can. It was a Long Island Ice Tea. He opened the can and smelled the contents before taking a swig. It was hard for him to swallow. The drink was less sweet than the Soda but it had a peculiar taste. When he looked back he saw the female sea troll smirk at him. Dave began to drink a can as well. He laughed at something one of the trolls said. Karkat decided to sit on the couch next to the male sea troll who tried to chat with him. Karkat continued to take small sips.

In a few minutes the troll got up and someone sat next to Karkat. It was Gamzee. Karkat tried to tell him off but he was too light headed. He felt the troll loop an arm around him. Karkat looked around for Dave but the human seemed to be gone in the blur of grey. Someone started playing music at some point. Gamzee smiled at Karkat. The larger troll's eyes were so vivid. His blood color had started to pierce the black in his eyes, unlike Karkat's.

Gamzee could have been beautiful. He had a straight nose and his jaw was square. He bet underneath the abhorred amount of face paint he had nice skin too. Those scars across his face though, they made Karkat angry. In today's age, what could have happened to this troll to have such a violent mark? He had so much potential to be handsome, but he was ruining it for himself. With his stupid attitude and his scars and his facial paint. He had good points too, though. Gamzee was social, he had friends and he had a relaxed demeanor, all things Karkat couldn't have. He could never be someone like Gamzee. It all made Karkat so unbelievably angry, he couldn't stand it.

Gamzee pulled Karkat closer and began talking to him. His voice was low and sultry. He whispered stupid things in Karkat's ear. However his words set off the right reactions in Karkat, a heated reaction. His body was too light to reaction appropriately. Karkat let out an weak growl, unnoticed by the group. Where was Dave?

The music began to pick up. “ThIs iS mY FaVoRiTe PaRt. WaNnA dAnCe?” Gamzee asked. He didn't wait for an answer before he pulled Karkat to his feet. The smaller troll wavered on his feet. Gamzee pulled him towards the back of the couch. The music was about to crescendo. Gamzee moved fluidly, tossed his long hair. Karkat wanted to sit back down. However when he looked around he saw all eyes were on them. Karkat blushed shyly. He tried to dance. Gamzee's whole body moved with the exotic music. It was bewitching. Karkat couldn't dance that way. It was more fuel to add to how he wanted to hate the troll. Suddenly, Karkat felt his blood begin to rush upwards. All the oxygen left the troll’s body and traveled to his head. Karkat fell and blacked out.

Karkat sluggishly opened his eyes. He looked around. He was in a dark room, laying on a bed. From across the room purple eyes stared into his. Gamzee walked closer until he was at the edge of the bed. He stared down at Karkat hungrily. “YoU sMeLl SwEeT bRoThEr. HoW cAn I rEsIsT IT wHeN iT’s ThAt StRoNg?” Gamzee climbed onto the bed, and crawled towards the smaller troll. “I cAn HeLp YoU iF yOu ArE In PaIn.” The troll straddled Karkat. “I cAn’T bE hAvInG nO cOmItTmEnTs ThOuGh. NoT eVeN fOr A tRoLl As RaD aS yOuRsElF.”

When Dave returned to the apartment two things were clear. Everyone had become quiet and his manager was missing.


	6. No More Emails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t know what happened,” Dave bit his lip. “I walked in and saw something evil, I think.” Red eyed strangers met each other’s gaze. “This is going to sound really uncool but I’m going to tell it like it is. I left there but if I hadn’t than you wouldn’t be hurt. What happened can’t be changed so if I’m half the man I claim to be than I have to do the right thing.”  
> “what…” Karkat tried to pick himself up but his hand slipped into the sink.  
> “Karkat, bad things happen in life but, for you, I promise I’ll make them suck less. I can’t promise the world but I can promise me. I’m not going to let another being, human or troll or even god, hurt you. Is that ok?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gets frisky.

[](http://imgur.com/Wdhb2Qs)

Karkat opened the hatch and climbed through. Here, the dim light invaded through glass windows. The metal floor chilled Karkat’s bare feet as he walked. He grasped the doorknob. The balcony doors, rusted with age, groaned when they parted. Outside, the rain had finally settled into mist. In the far away distance, where the planes of grey sky and ocean meet, burned the colors of an autumn sunset. It seemed far away, where the brighter clouds where. Karkat looked down. He secretly wished he was there. The ocean underneath thrashed angrily, licking away at the rocky base of the lighthouse. A roll of thunder echoed off from the other side of the sky.

Karkat closed his eyes and let the air roll over him. Here in this lighthouse, he could be free from the burden of feeling. This place had purpose. Tiered on the sun bleached rocks, the lighthouse captivated and sentenced him to the infinite void. He was alone. It’s what he had wanted.

The blade dangled at his side. He raised one arm on the balcony, over the ocean, and cut down his arm, letting the sharp metal bite him. The blood bubbled in his arm and out fell small, bright red fish. One by one they landed into the angry ocean. When there were no more fish to give, his arm closed. The angry ocean, now satisfied, became still. The clouds parted and the pink sky reflected into the dark mirror of the water.

Karkat dropped his arm and looked down at the little red fish swimming laps around the white island. Steadily his chest began to stir. The little fish didn’t belong here. This was his lighthouse, not theirs. This place was his to protect, alone. At his feet, he noticed one fish didn’t make it to the ocean. Red splattered over his foot. Karkat turned and left the balcony. It was only until the impending night arrived that Karkat realized the lighthouse was inoperable.

.

.

.

Karkat awoke to midmorning light. His eyes fluttered open, sluggishly. The sun filtered through an open window. The white curtains danced with the incoming breezing. Underneath him, the sheets were soft. The bed he slept in was plush. An overwhelming feeling of safety and satisfaction welled up in his chest. Karkat closed his eyes again, letting his chest fall. He rolled over on his side.

Karkat’s eyes flew open and he sprung up from the bed. The motion cued a sharp headache. Karkat groaned. He found a glass of water on the bed side table and sipped it. The room seemed slightly familiar.

A knock on the door made him jump. The door slowly opened and Dave poked his head through. “Good you’re awake.” He entered the room and walked to the bed. The blond sat on the bed next to him. Karkat noticed he was wearing his pjs and sunglasses at the same time. He opened his mouth to say something and stopped. “How do you feel?” He finally asked.

“Like utter shit.” Karkat groaned. He was surprised by how hoarse his own voice sounded.

“Do you,” Dave hesitated. “Remember last night?”

Karkat thought for a moment. His head ached. “I remember going out to the bar and meeting your friends. I think I drank an alcoholic beverage but um,” He chuckled. “I can’t remember after that. I must have had too much.”

“Yea,” Dave replied curtly. “You did.”

“I didn’t do anything stupid did I?” Karkat asked light heartedly.

The lines by Dave’s mouth grew deep. He turned his head away. “No. You passed out and I took you back to my apartment.”

“This is going to sound, um, babyish but I’m glad you were there for me.” Karkat smiled.

Dave rose to his feet. “I’m going to get breakfast. You’re welcome to stay.” He said. Dave held his posture rigidy.

“Um, sure.”

The blond left the room and closed the guest room door. Quickly he walked into his room. Closing his door, he waited for the quiet click before turning and punching his wall. He withdrew his red fist from the hole. Sliding down the wall he threw off his shades and balled his hands into his eyes. He left the apartment at some point.

Half an hour passed before Dave reentered the apartment. He set two bags aside on the table and noticed his bathroom door was ajar. He looked over to the guest room to see the door was open. Walking over, he knocked on the door. “Karkat?” He called gently. The door opened and Karkat stood behind the door with a furrowed brow. “Karkat what-“

The smaller troll moved suddenly, throwing his head to the side and exposing his neck. “What the fuck is this?” He asked angrily. The troll pointed at two puncture wounds in the fragile skin. “I’m covered in bruises.” He looked at Dave. “WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED LAST NIGHT? MY EYES ARE TURNING RED. THAT’S NOT SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN YET.”

Dave leaned his elbow on the doorframe, and rested his forehead against his inner arm. His eyes were closed. “I’m sorry.” He said.

“WHAT…WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? I LOOK LIKE I WAS BITTEN BY A MYTHOLOGICAL BARKBEAST. WHY?”

“I wanted…” Dave mumbled. His hands clenched into fists. He hit the doorway. “I wasn’t…”

“You’re not making sense.” Karkat said. He began to growl. “Take off those stupid fucking glasses!”

Dave gripped his glasses and flung them over his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, they gleamed wet with tears. “It doesn’t matter now.” Dave spoke from his chest. He briskly walked into Karkat. The troll backed into the sink, almost falling over. The human loomed over him. He leaned his hand against the wall, blocking any exit.

“IT FUCKING MATTERS.” Karkat growled defensively.

“I don’t know what happened,” Dave bit his lip. “I walked in and saw something evil, I think.” Red eyed strangers met each other’s gaze. “This is going to sound really uncool but I’m going to tell it like it is. I left there but if I hadn’t than you wouldn’t be hurt. What happened can’t be changed so if I’m half the man I claim to be than I have to do the right thing.”

“what…” Karkat tried to pick himself up but his hand slipped into the sink.

“Karkat, bad things happen in life but, for you, I promise I’ll make them suck less. I can’t promise the world but I can promise me. I’m not going to let another being, human or troll or even god, hurt you. Is that ok?”

Karkat stared, eyes wide. “Did I…get into a fight?”

“No. There was blood to be had, though.”

“Woah wait you’re kidding right?”

Dave laughed. “Uh yea, duh. You really fell for that.”

“The mood was just so intense.”

“I had to ease it somehow.”

Dave was quiet for a moment. “Hey Karkat. I’m feeling a lot of different things right now. Can I kiss you?”

Karkat’s face turned red. “I guess…” He replied. The blond leaned in.

Karkat sat at the kitchen counter. Dave placed a paper bag in front of him. “I got you something to eat.” He said. Karkat went into the bag and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in paper. “Oh grubwurst.” Karkat’s eyes lit up. Dave sat across from the troll and pulled out a breakfast sandwich. They ate in silence. When they were finished Karkat asked to use Dave’s computer. Dave showed him the way and Karkat signed into his email account.

1 new email. The troll clicked the link. His face dropped. “I got an email from the woman who wants to buy your painting. The payment is going to be delayed until next week. That’s cutting it close.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine.” Dave replied, throwing out his garbage. 

.

.

.

In a week Karkat received enough money in his bank account to get back his car. He took the trip out to the lot and waited on line. When he reached the front a new person was behind the counter. This person was a young woman. When Karkat spoke about his case, the woman had bad news. The car had already gone to auction and was bought. Karkat’s eyes fell to the floor. He was too late.

Outside, the rain began to pick up. Thick cold drops fell from the grey sky. Karkat let himself fall against the building. He wanted to cry but he was afraid it would be too noticeable. He began his walk back to the bus.

The bus dropped him off and he began the walk to his tent. At least at home, Karkat could grieve alone. As he stepped into the woods, his feet sunk into the dirt. The smell of wet earthed filled his nose, and the air chilled his wet body. The under grove brushed past his ankles and the leaves clung to his skin. All around him, the forest whistled. As he neared his tent he noticed something strange. He picked up the pace in fear. When he came into the clearing he stopped shortly. His worst fear had come to fruition. The great shock filled his chest. The tent was gone.

His head began spinning. Everything was gone. It was as if he had never lived here but this was where it was. This was the area but everything was gone! Karkat sunk to his knees and into the soft earth. No, no, no. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Something went wrong. It isn’t supposed to be this way. Red tears rolled down his cheeks. It’s not fair. He didn’t understand why he came to that conclusion, but he felt just. His life wasn’t supposed to be this way. Nothing was supposed to be like this.

Karkat fell into the dirt with a wet thud. He crawled into himself and cried, hard. When he was done he lied there longer. It was only until Karkat feared becoming part of the earth that he got up. At that moment he started out to Dave’s apartment.

Karkat walked into the apartments. By now it was dark outside. The door echoed as it closed. Karkat was dripping wet. The small troll snaked his fingers through his short hair and ascended the steps. The apartment building was muggy. By the time Karkat reached the human’s apartment he felt uncomfortably warm. One knock, two knocks. He rapped his knuckle against the wood. A muted thud answered from the other side of the door. There was a click and the door opened. Dave peaked a head out and raised his brows.

“Oh my god.” He said.

“Can I come in?” Karkat asked.

Dave was quiet. “I had company.” He cleared his throat. “Have, I have company.”

“…I can’t come in?” Karkat asked.

“Uh, no. You can come in just…one moment.”

Dave shut the door. Karkat had a sense of Déjà vu. He stood there for a good moment before the door opened again. A tall woman with short blonde hair stood in the doorway. She glanced at Karkat and buttoned the top of her shirt. She side stepped the small troll and disappeared down the stairs. Dave reached the door, wearing a familiar robe. “Hey.” He greeted.

Karkat scrunched his nose. “You were having intercourse.” He commented.

Dave laughed. “Man, there aint’ no races here. Just me and my pad, bro.” He replied.

Karkat stepped inside. “Great, you’re high too. Fucking idiot.” He mumbled. Karkat welcomed the air-conditioning.

Dave closed the door. “So not that I don’t like seeing your pretty face but what’s brings this pleasant, cock blocking visit?”

Karkat made a disgusted face. “First, I would rather not know where you put your large and disgusting mammalian genitalia. Second, I’m officially homeless.”

“You think it’s big?” Dave smiled.

“Dave, shut the fuck up. I’m taking you up on your offer.”

“…I never asked you about that. Are you reading my mind?”

“What are you mumbling about?”

“You want to be my boyfriend.”

“WHAT? NO, THAT’S NOT—WHAT?” A blush broke out on Karkat’s face.

“Oh wait you mean the room.”

“Wait what the fuck were you talking about?”

“No my bad. I must have been thinking about someone else.”

“…”

“Nah, forget it.”

“Can I borrow some clothes?” Karkat asked, slightly irritated.

“Um yea follow me.”

Dave took Karkat to his room. The blond fished through his dresser and pulled a Tshirt and shirts. He handed him the clothes. “This is the smallest thing I have, sorry.” Dave said. Karkat took the clothes and paused.

“Well?” Karkat finally spoke.

“Well what?”

“Leave?” Karkat said, motioning to the door.

“Can I stay?” Dave asked. “I’m curious about troll…bodies.”

Karkat blushed. “Oh my gog, just don’t get weird on me. I’ll fucking cut you.”

Karkat turned and began undressing. Dave sat on his bed and watched intently. Karkat took off his shirt first. Dave tilted his head. “What are those on your ribs?” He asked.

“I’m not a science experiment. Don’t ask me any more stupid questions.” Karkat hissed. Dave sat back on the bed and continued to watch.

Karkat put Daves shirt on. The shirt was long and baggy on him. Next he took off his wet pants and then his underwear. To Dave’s annoyance, the shirt blocked anything interesting.

“Hold up.” He called. Karkat turned around to see Dave walking towards him.

“What?” Karkat asked.

Dave pulled up Karkat’s shirt and eyed his nether regions. Karkat squeaked and pulled the shirt back down.

“OK, EXCUSE YOU YOU FUCKING PERVERT.” Karkat hissed.

“What was going on down there?” Dave asked. Karkat blushed and turned his head.

“You’re making me nervous.” Karkat replied.

“Can I look again?”

“…Just don’t touch anything…”

Dave lifted the shirt again and examined the strange organ. It almost looked like the troll had nothing there, like a ken doll. It was smooth looking. Something was sticking out from the smooth part though. A small red nub stuck out like a tongue.

“That’s it? It’s so cute.” Dave commented.

“No, UGH…” Karkat hissed. “OH MY GOG IS FUCKING STUPID.”

“Calm down, I want to see it.” Dave looked up at Karkat. “Can I?”

“Knock yourself out.”

Dave stuck a finger on the nub. “Oh it’s warm.”

“No shit.” Karkat replied.

Dave continued to prod the nub until it squirmed out more. Dave’s eyes widened. “Oh it’s like a snake. It moves?” He questioned. Karkat nodded. He bit on his lip to stifle a small moan. The bulge slowly unsheathed until it was fully out. The small appendage squirmed, looking to latch onto something. Dave let it wrap around his finger and it slowly made its way around his wrist. Dave groaned. “This is kinda hot…” He murmured.

Dave stoked the bulge. Pleasure shot through Karkat’s body but he kept his mouth shut, tightly. The hand made it to his base and felt around. Dave felt around underneath the bulge and raised a brow.

“No,” Dave laughed. His fingers wandered back to Karkat’s nook. Karkat’s entire face became red.

“OK, HOT SHOT. THAT’S ENOUGH.” He yelped. Dave’s fingers slid between the thin folds and Karkat shivered.

“I don’t think you want me to stop though.” Dave smirked and pushed a finger inside. Karkat let out a choked moan. Karkat began to breathe heavily and he closed his eyes, trying to regain his composer. When he opened them again he saw Dave palming through his own pants. His own face had a dust of blush and he panted lightly.

“You look disgusting,” Karkat commented.

“You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.” Dave replied before bringing his face to Karkat’s bulge and engulfing it. Karkat was filled with shock until the heat of Dave’s mouth wrapped around his bulge. Karkat let out a loud moan and covered his face. Dave took out his own member and began stroking. Karkat cursed. Heat was filling his lower stomach. He closed his eyes as the feeling of contentment became unbearable. Karkat let the heat swallow him. He couldn’t stop himself from making embarrassing noises. His throat chirred. His lungs left his breath shallow.

Karkat’s legs wobbled. He tried grasping behind him but couldn’t regain his support. Legs folded. He plopped down and Dave followed. The human quickly went back to work. He stroked himself roughly, and moaned into Karkat’s bulge. The vision sent Karkat over the edge. He bit down on his own hand to stop the loud noise but his throat still betrayed him. His lower muscles contracted around Dave’s fingers and a shallow tide flowed from his nook. Dave came soon after, all over his hand. When Dave withdrew both of his hands were a mess and a faint red stained his lips. Karkat’s upper body fell to the floor and he succumbed to his tiredness.

In an hour Karkat awoke to find himself clean, fully dressed and back in the guest bedroom. Leaning on the wall next to the window was a painting of him, laying in red flowers.


	7. Kinsmen

                The next morning Dave found Karkat in the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards. The troll kneeled on the kitchen counter as he searched. Dave rubbed his sleepy red eyes and squinted through the morning light. He went into his pj pocket and took out his shades, and put them on. Walking over to the counter, he rested his upper body on the ledge. “What the fuck are you doing?” He asked.

                Karkat turned around, startled. He smiled. “I thought I’d make breakfast but it seems these cabinets are just for show,” Karkat hopped off the counter and walked towards Dave.

                “Ok, I’ll make this simpler. Why are you in my apartment?” Dave asked.

                “Are you serious?” Karkat replied. The counter that divided the kitchen and the living room stood between the two.

                “Yea. I think this is what you say to someone who breaks into your home.”

                “You are the one who gave me the key,” Karkat retorted.

                “When?”

                “When you broke into my ‘home’.”

                “…”

                “Yesterday?”

                “…”

                “ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?” Karkat hissed.

                “I blacked out again…” Dave ran a hand through his messy hair.

                “Do you…” Karkat paused. Grief settled into his chest. “You don’t remember anything do you?”

                “Well look at it this way,” Dave chuckled. “There might be a painting somewhere.”

                The feeling of sadness subsided and anger replaced it. Karkat clenched his jaw.

“I DIDN’T SEE ANY.” The troll responded.

“I guess I stayed in,” Dave walked into the kitchen. Karkat stepped aside, avoiding the blond. Dave glanced over. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Karkat looked away but Dave had already seen it. He closed in on the troll.

“Are you crying?” He asked.

“NO. MY EYES ARE JUST WATERING AT HOW YOU REEK OF ARM PIT!” Karkat hissed.

“I--“Dave stopped. “Could probably use a shower. You make a decent point.”

At that moment a knock came from the front door. Dave looked at the door with suspicion. “Shouldn’t you get that?” Karkat asked.

“No one knows my address…” He muttered.

“Well, you get around,” Karkat muttered.

Dave walked to the door, disappearing from the view point of the kitchen. Karkat stayed where he was, momentarily glad Dave had left. He was so angry right now. He wasn’t sure what to do with the human. Karkat wasn’t even sure he should stick around him. In the middle of his thoughts, the sound of a solid impact broke the silence. Karkat peered over the wall at the front door.

Dave reached the door and twisted the knob. He made sure not to touch the chain lock as he peeked through. A large hand forced its way between the tight space. The door thrust back, stopping only because of the chain. Under immense strain, the chain creaked and then ripped from the wall. The door was torn open. The action was fast enough to catch Dave off guard. The door side swiped him, making him stumble back.

A large troll stood halfway into the apartment. Teeth bared, claws extended, he turned his fearsome eyes onto Dave. He stepped into the hall. Palms open, growling lightly, he pursued the human with precision. Dave fumbled and braced against the wall. The troll kneeled down with his powerful legs.   A loud noise was created as his open palm hit the wall, trapping Dave.

                “YoU tHiNk YoUrE a ClEvEr MoThEr FuCkEr, dOnT yOu?” The troll’s breathe was hot on Dave’s face. Dave eyed down the troll through his dark shades.

The troll's voice was deep and grating; familiar to Karkat. He recognized the troll. Gamzee was in Dave’s apartment. At this realization, Karkat’s entire body locked up. He stood in plain sight, helpless and frustrated.

Gamzee suddenly stopped. His focus moved onto Karkat. Catching the sight of the small troll, his pupils constricted and his breathing became shallow. Dave slowly reached behind himself, into his back pocket.   Before Dave reacted, Gamzee rose from the floor. Dave frowned.

                “WeLl, WeLl ITs YoU. hOw ArE yOu My BrOtHeR?” Gamzee was light on his feet as he approached Karkat. He suddenly became a different troll. He looked again like the dopy troll from the bar. The smaller troll felt his muscles quickly relax, almost causing him to fall. Gamzee laid a hand on his shoulder. “CaReFuL tHeRe. WoUlDn’t WaNT to gEt HuRt.”    

                Karkat looked at the troll. He had a bandage across his nose and a split lip.

                “Hey,” Dave called. He was on his feet now.   “Get the fuck out.”

                “CoMe On NoW. IS tHaT aNy WaY tO tAlK tO a FrIeNd?” Gamzee asked, not looking away from Karkat.

                Dave approached Gamzee. “You're not my friend anymore.],” Dave replied.

                “ShIt WhYs ThAt NoW? I uP aNd BrOuGhT oUr UsUaL dEaL fOr DeLiVeRy AnD eVeRyThInG fOr My MoSt WiCkEd BrOtHeR,” Gamzee said. Karkat was looking at Dave now. Something suddenly touched his hair. Karkat realized Gamzee was touching his hair. His lips curled and Karkat thought he heard a faint noise. Gamzee shooshed him. Karkat's pupils slightly dilated.

                “Thanks but no thanks,” Dave said. He pushed his way between the trolls. “I'm done with that shit.”

                Gamzee narrowed his eyes. “WeLl, I gUeSs IlL jUsT bE SeEiNg YoU aRoUnD aNd AbOuT.” Gamzee turned and walked towards the door. Once he was out Dave hurried to the door and shut it, locking it with the deadbolt. Dave leaned against the door for a moment. He let out a breath of air. Karkat watched Dave, curiously.

                “Karkat,” Dave's voice had a warning tone. “If you ever see Gamzee on the street don't go near him. He's dangerous.”

                “Are you actually quitting?” Karkat asked.

                Dave pushed off the door and walked to Karkat. “No,” He replied. “I need a new dealer.”

                “Oh,”Karkat replied.

                “Do you eat cereal?” Dave asked.

                In a moment, the two were eating at the counter.

                “So what happened yesterday?” Dave asked.

                “Someone bought my car. I went home, my tent was gone,” Karkat replied.

                “So you came here?”

                “Yea.”

                Dave swallowed a mouthful of cereal. “You know, I must have been really fucked up to give you my spare key but you can live here.” He replied.

                “I'm only staying until I can get a place of my own.” Karkat answered.

                “It might be good, you can keep me in check or something.”

                “I don't think a village could keep you in check.”

                Dave laughed. “Shut the fuck up.” He said.

                “Hey, I'm curious about something. It might sound strange,” Karkat said.

                “Shoot.”

                “Why is it always quiet here, in the apartments?”

                “No one else lives here,” Dave replied. “A friend of mine is planning on renting out these rooms but they're not up for sale yet.”

                “You never feel creeped out living here alone?” Karkat asked.

                “I get around remember?” Dave said.

                “Ok whatever. We need to get you painting again. Do you have all your supplies?” Karkat asked.

                “I have no idea. I only paint when i'm fucked up.” Dave replied.

                “Well, let's see how you do without drugs.” Karkat took both of the bowls and went to the sink.

.

.

.

The painting was pretty shitty. Dave stood in front of his newly created masterpiece. He was covered in paint and frowning heavily. “What did I tell you,” He said. “It looks like shit.”

                The painting was in oils and was created in an hour. It was supposed to be a bowl of fruit, which was the best thing Dave could think of at the moment. However the picture resembled a bunch of brightly colored circles in a brown circle.

                “Maybe if you took off your fucking glasses you could see what you're painting,” Karkat replied.

                “Hey, I've probably made my best work with my shades on,” Dave answered.

                Dave placed his brush and palate on the table and walking into the kitchen. He took out a glass from one cabinet and a bottle of wine from another. He offered some to Karkat who turned it down. “There’s only one way to do this,” Dave said before he took a sip of the wine from the bottle. He gave the troll a glass of water. Karkat took a seat on the couch and let the blond get to work.

                In half an hour, Dave had gotten himself somewhere passed buzzed. He took up his paintbrush and a new canvas. He placed the canvas on the aisle and stared at it. Karkat watched curiously. He had always felt amazed by how someone could take a white surface and make it into something. Weather it was something 3-dimensional or just flat colors, paintings could inspire and arouse emotion. Karkat couldn’t paint. He felt he didn’t have many interesting qualities at all. He was jealous of Dave’s creativity, even if it wasn’t on purpose.

                “What do I do now?” Dave asked.

                “What?” Karkat asked.

                “What do I paint?” Dave whispered.

                “Why are you asking me and why are you whispering?” Karkat asked back.

                “If I show fear on the presence of muses, they will avoid me,” He replied.

                “That was wine, wasn’t it?” Karkat asked.

                “I need something for inspiration,” Dave replied.

                “Like?”

                “A girl.”

                “I refuse to help you get laid.”

                “I don’t know what else to paint!”

                “Why does it have to be a girl and why do you need--THAT?”

                “Listen, I don’t want this to sound the wrong way. I’m not a romantic. There's a reason I paint and It’s got nothing to do with painting. There's something beautiful about a woman after she’s satisfied. She’s all pink and her hair looks soft and her eyes gleam. I just feel the urge to recreate that beauty. The paint is my medium.”

                “OK what if I like, went jogging or something. I'd be all sweaty and disgusting like you want.” Karkat huffed.

                Dave thought for a moment. “We could try that.” He replied.

                “OK, I'm going to run around the block. You keep getting drunk.” Karkat said, heading for the door. Karkat closed the door and began to head down the stairs. On his way down he noticed someone was at the bottom of the stairs.

                Gamzee stood at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up at Karkat as he descended the stairs. Karkat raised a brow. “Were you waiting here?” Karkat asked. Gamzee pushed himself off the wall and stood up right.

                “NaH bRo, I lIvE hErE,” Gamzee Replied. “YoU gOiNg SoMeWhErE?”

                “I'm going to jog around the block.” Karkat answered, guardedly.  

                “MiNd If I cOmE wItH? I aInT gOt NoThInG bEtTeR tO dO wItH mY tImE.”

            Karkat passed Gamzee and went to the door. The larger troll followed through the door.

            “Actually I would mind,” Karkat replied as he began a light jog. Gamzee began walking faster.

            “ThErEs No NeEd Be AlL sElF cOnScIoUs WiTh Me. iM jUsT a LaId BaCk MoThEr FuCkEr WhO wAnTs To MaKe A nEw FrIeNd Is AlL.” Gamzee replied.

            Karkat began to pick up the pace and Gamzee began jogging. He watched the other troll carefully. The two trolls slipped around the corner.

            “So HoW dO yOu KnOw ThAt BrOtHeR?” Gamzee asked.

            “I'm working for him,” Karkat replied, already slightly winded.

            “ThAtS cOoL. I cAn GeT bEhInD wOrKiNg FoR a MoThErFuCkEr AnD mAkInG a WiCkEd StRoNg BoNd. mAn, yOu GoT tO lOvE fRiEnDsHiP. ItS a FuCkInG mIrAcLe.” Gamzee replied.

            “I DONT THINK WERE FRIENDS I JUST SORT OF WORK FOR HIM, I MEAN, WHY WOULD I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE LIKE HIM?”

            “AwW cOmE oN nOw. i KnOw ThE gUy PrEtTy WeLl. hEs JuSt AnOtHeR hUmAn TrYiNg To GeT hIs ChIlL oN wItH bItChEs. hE cAn SlAm SoMe WiCkEd SiCk RhYmEs. I sEeN tHe FiRe JuSt FlIcKeR oUt FrOm HiS mOuTh WhEn He SpItS hIs SlAm PoEtRy.”

“IM GOING TO PRETEND I DIDN’T HEAR HALF OF THE GARBAGE THAT JUST SPEWED FROM YOUR MOUTH. HE’S A COMPLETE DOUCHE, END OF THE SHITTIEST STORY I COULD TELL.”

            The two rounded the corner. Karkat was slowing down.

            “AlRiGhT bRo. iF yOu EvEr NeEd A bRoThEr To JuSt SiT bAcK wItH aNd SlAm A wIcKeD rEd FiZzY dRiNk AnD cHaT aBoUt ThE mIrAcLeS oF lIfE yOu KnOw WhO yOu CaN gO tO.”

            Karkst was silent. He didn’t especially trust the troll but a friend sounded nice to him. After the run Gamzee told Karkat about a chat client he should try out, and gave him his username. Karkat took the name, and thanked him. Gamzee walked off.

            Up inside the apartment Dave had become slightly drunk. He told Karkat to sit on the couch. Half an hour of posing later Dave showed Karkat a painting of a grey blur on a white potato.

            Karkat went into the bathroom to freshen up. Dave checked his computer. A new message had popped on pesterchum. Gamzee had messaged him. Cautiously Dave opened the chat. He closed the chat quickly, turned off his computer, and locked thefront door with the deadbolt. In the morning he would have to go get the chain latch fixed. The message had read, “Im GoInG tO eAt HiM aLiVe. :O) “  


	8. Budding Friendhsip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He looked into the mirror at his own tired face. He went to turn on the faucet and gasped. His hands were bleeding. A few shards of glass were stuck in his palms and thick red blood was dripping into the sink. He cursed and began to extract the shards of glass. The warm water and soap washed away the blood. By the time he was done his hands were shaking and still bleeding.
> 
> A sharp pain began creeping up his side. Karkat pulled up his hoodie and grimaced. Blood was smeared over his ribs and trickling down his side. He discarded the dirty shirt and hoodie and went to examine the wound. Tears began to well up in his eyes. He had a small punture wound in his arm. He had been shot. He bit his lip. His head swam. It was all too much. He needed help. He needed help right now. He had to call somebody and it couldn't be Dave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapters have been updating late. Enjoy this next exciting chapter. There some gore so watch out.

Karkat Vantas was an understanding troll. He tried his best to look at an issue from every angle. Because of this he felt he couldn’t be a bad person. He wanted to be just, and fair. However situations such as this can make even the most honest troll question himself. Questions such as “Why me?”, “Am I being punished?”, “Was I born to be a joke?” and so on.

Karkat was standing in an abandoned building. The air here was dust filled and stale. With every step the floorboards groaned. With every strong gust of air, the building moaned. The threat of decaying wood was real here. Karkat was in danger in more ways than one.

Outside, the sun was setting. Inside, the sparse light barely lit the ground, littered with garbage and obsticles. Karkat could see decently well in low lighting but the darkening room made him uneasy. His foot bumped against something hard and plastic. A toy truck was kicked against the wall. Far above the toy, a picture of a family still hung on the wall. Karkat gulped.

Some of the old furniture was still in the house. Inside the kitchen Karkat could see how the family lived. All of the cabinets were open and mostly empty. A few knickknacks were toppled over on the counter. A broken kettle was on the floor. Even the table was still here, placed against the far end of the kitchen, covered in a sheet. Above the table someone had spray-painted a phrase on the wall. The words “Island Waifs” shone in Green letters.

Footsteps thudded behind him. Karkat turned. Nobody was there. He placed his hand on the bulge in his pocket. He didn’t know how to use this thing, he didn’t want to be this violent. He hoped it wouldn’t come to this. The house was silent. Karkat eased his muscles and continued on.

The troll continued down a hall. A room to his right was slightly ajar. Karkat pushed on the door. Inside the room was the remains of what looked like a parlor. All of the furniture was still intact here, and covered with sheets. The room looked like it was full of shitty Halloween ghosts. The paintings on the wall still hung up, between large windows. Karkat entered the room. The moment he past the threshold something scampered past the door and shut it. Karkat jumped and turned. It was too late, the door was now locked.

Suddenly, the sound of grating metal made Karkat turn around. Someone was standing there, tall and lean. They wore a black hoodie and dark pants. Normally a human wouldn't frighten Karkat but this human was diffrent. This human wore a clear plastic mask that immitated a human face. The light caught against the metal object that hung from the person’s arm. A metal pipe.

Karkat took a step back and the person rushed him on. They ran, and swung the pipe. Karkat ducked under their arm, and stumbled. The sound of wood breaking hit his ears. He turned and a flash of silver flew past his head, barely missing. The metal pipe cracked the floor. Karkat got up and ran. The person side stepped. They jumped onto the furniture and flung themselves in front of him. In a second they had pulled out a small gun from their hoodie pocket.

Karkat stood frozen. A sound alerted him behind him, more footsteps. Another masked assailant was behind him. This one crouched on the floor, and had a rifle aimed straight at his chest. The first thug approached Karkat and patted him down. When they got to his pocket they pulled out the small hidden gun. The thug flung it across the room.

“You ‘fink this is a fuckin’ joke?” The first thug asked. He had a strong accent, almost incomprehensible. “What, are you some sort of tough guy? Comin’ in here armed with your pussy ass gun? You tryin’ to start trouble?” The thug pushed Karkat hard in the chest. The other thug got up, still aimming carefully at Karkat.

“Fuck. I’m trying to buy something. Don’t shoot.” Karkat replied. He raised his arms.

“Is that so?” The first thug answered. “Why you bringin’ a gun here, then? To MY bloody fuckin’ ‘ouse? DO YOU THINK I’M STUPID?” The other thug was completely silent.

“Jegus. NO it was for protection. I’m seriously here to buy from you.” Karkat said.

The first thug was silent for a moment. Then he replied. “I don’t believe him, Grandma,” He said. “Kill ‘em.”

“NO, FUCK,” Karkat shut his eyes and braced himself.

.

.

.

That morning Dave drove Karkat to work. It was a cloudy day, it looked like it would rain later. When they arrived at Karkat's office, Dave pulled out a plastic bag from the back seat. He passed it over to the troll. Karkat looked inside the bag and pulled out a cell phone.

“You don’t have one right? Well now you do,” Dave said.

“Uh, thanks,” Karkat replied.

“It has my number in it already,” Dave said. “Call me when you’re out of work and I’ll come and get you.”

“Sure,” Karkat climbed out of the car.

“Have fun at work,”

“I’ll try.”

Karkat closed the door and Dave drove off.

In his office, Karkat noticed a manila envelope on his desk. He knew this was coming eventually. Karkat was assigned a second client. Inside the envelope Karkat got to see who his new client would be. The client was a female troll named Kanaya Maryam. Looking further into her file, it showed she wanted to be a dancer. He felt like she looked familiar, but he shook it off. He shot the troll a quick email about meeting her and discussing information.

After work Karkat took out the new cell phone. Once the phone was unlocked Karkat saw the background was a picture of Dave. He rolled his eyes and looked in his contacts. He called the only number there. A familiar voice answered on the other end.

“Hey I’m calling you,” Karkat said.

“Yea, I figured that much out,” Dave replied. “Are you off now?”

“Yea.”

“Ok I’ll be there soon.”

In a moment, Dave pulled up in his car and Karkat hopped in. The blond was wearing his pj’s and sunglasses. He was absolutely infuriating.

“Have fun today?” He asked.

Karkat chuckled. “Fun wouldn’t be the right word,” He replied.

There was a silence.

“So we need to get you painting again,” Karkat started.

“How do you purpose that?” Dave asked.

“Any way possible,” Karkat replied. “Where can we buy drugs?”

Dave was quiet. “You’re going to buy me drugs?” He finally asked.

“We’re in a bad predicament right now,” Karkat began. “As it stands, you’re unable to paint and I’m not making any money. Today I’ve just been assigned a new client. My job will make me drop you if we’re not making money. We’re going to have to work together now.”

“I only know of one other dealer in this area and they’re unfriendly,” Dave said. “I don’t feel comfortable around them.”

“I’ll talk to them then,” Karkat said. “Where can I find them?”

“They hang out at 111 Kings Boulevard but I don’t want you going by yourself.” Dave said.

“Alright,” Karkat replied.

“Listen, I’m fucking serious here. You seem to think you’re this big bad troll but you’re not. You’re not invincible and I don’t want to go to your funeral.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid.”

 

Once Dave went into his room, Karkat closed the door to his own room and began packing his backpack. He went into the closet and grabbed a hoodie when he noticed a shoebox in the back of the closet. Curious, he opened it and found a small revolver. The gun weighed heavily in his hands. Karkat didn't know how to use the gun but it could come in handy. He stashed it in his pocket.

The troll peered out the door. Dave's room was still closed. He closed the door silently and crept to the front door. Once out he closed the door carefully and scampered down the stairs, out the building.

Outside the sun was still high but Karkat knew that in a few hours it would begin to sink. He began his hjourny and adjusted the backpack on his back. The adress wasn't too far off from Dave's apartment, maybe an hour walk. Down the block he continued on, past the train tracks and almost to the next town before reaching the adress of the home.

The sun was close to setting at this point. The neighborhood looked pretty normal. His destination looked like an abandoned house. The windows were boarded up and small pieces of garbage were littered on the front lawn. The house looked like it use to be quiant. It was a narrow two story building that was painted in a faded green. A tire swing still hung from the tree in the front yard.

Karkat walked up to the chain link fence and checked the gate. The door unlatched easily and he was able to walk into the yard. Walking up the cracked driveway and up up the creaking porch, Karkat stood infront of the door. The paint around the white rusted Numbers was beginning to peal. This was the place. Karkat took a deep breath. The screen door creaked as it was opened. He hesitated, and went to knock. Upon impact the door opened.

Karkat peered into the crack in the door. The room looked dark and the light that passed into the room exposed a dense ammount of floating dust. The room looked empty besides the garbage on the floor. Karkat opened the door more and stepped in. He looked around the room from the door. No one was here. He walked in, closing the door behind him.

He had only been looking for the drug dealers here, nothing more. However in less than 5 minutes they had found him, and had a gun aimed at his chest. The first thug shook his head. “I don’t believe him, Grandma,” He said. “Kill ‘em.”

Karkat braced for impact. The other thug pulled the trigger. Something inside Karkat suddenly snapped. He wouldn't submit. He shifted his body, missing the bullet and he grabbed a chair. The second thug cursed and the first thug aimed his gun and fired. Karkat flung the chair at the window and broke it. He jumped out his newly created exit and for a moment, there was a lot of rukus and sound. Karkat ran as if the world was shouting at him. The thugs could be around any corner. He was vulnerable. He ran out the gate and down the road and he didnt stop until he reached the end of the block.

Turning around, he saw no one followed him. Everything was quiet again. The sound of crickets chirping filled the sweet night air. There was no life out here, not even a car. The sudden contrast was too much. Bracing against his knees, the troll gasped for air. His lungs burned. Sweat ran down his face. He felt like his heart would explode.

It was dark out by now. Karkat stood up straight and began walking blindly in the opposite direction. At some point he found a gas station. Walking in, he got the keys to the outside bathroom and locked himself in there.

He looked into the mirror at his own tired face. He went to turn on the faucet and gasped. His hands were bleeding. A few shards of glass were stuck in his palms and thick red blood was dripping into the sink. He cursed and began to extract the shards of glass. The warm water and soap washed away the blood. By the time he was done his hands were shaking and still bleeding.

A sharp pain began creeping up his side. Karkat pulled up his hoodie and grimaced. Blood was smeared over his ribs and trickling down his side. He discarded the dirty shirt and hoodie and went to examine the wound. Tears began to well up in his eyes. He had a small punture wound in his arm. He had been shot. He bit his lip. His head swam. It was all too much. He needed help. He needed help right now. He had to call somebody and it couldn't be Dave.

Karkat went into his bag and pulled out his phone. The chat client was already installed on his phone. He typed in the user name and sent a message. The message was absolutely pitiful and slightly alarming. The blood from his hands smeared onto the phone. Tears run down his face, onto his hands. “I need help,” He typed.

Gamzee messaged him back. “WhErE aRe YoU?” He asked.

Karkat messaged him the coordinates. He put his shirt back on, wincing when the fabric touched his chest and arm. His arm haden't hurt until now but a deep pain was throbbing there now.

There was a sudden knock on the bathroom door. “Excuse me sir, are you ok in there?” It was an unfamiliar voice. Probably a worker at the gas station.

“Yea just, stomach issues...” Karkat replied. His voice was harsh.

“Ok, please try to make it quick,” The worker responded. Karkat rolled his eyes.

Karkat's phone beeped. He opened the chat client.

“Im HeRe,” The message read.

Karkat gathered his things and went outside. A shitty looking purple car was parked in front. Gamzee got out of the front seat and walked straight up to Karkat.

“ WhAtS gOt YoU uP aNd FrAzZlEd FrIeNd?” He asked, placing a hand on Karkat's arm. Karkat winced and recoiled.

“I need to go to a hospital,” Karkat replied. Gamzee ushered Karkat into the car and drove them to a trolls only clinic. Once at the hospital, Karkat was patched up quickly. The bullet hadn't made it that far into his arm and was easily removed. Karkat was bandaged up and out of the clinic in almost no time. On the way out Karkat checked his phone. 5 new messages, 2 missed calls, 2 new voice mails. All from Dave. He sighed.

Gamzee gave him a ride back to the apartment. Karkat thanked Gamzee, and the larger troll drove off. Karkat climbed up the steps. He walked up cautiously and unlocked the door. When Karkat walked into the living room Dave was passed out on the couch, surrounded by beer bottles. Karkat frowned and went to bed.

 

 


	9. Peyote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The human moved over and got closer to Karkat until he was right next to him. The height difference was visible. He looked down at Karkat, still transfixed. The blond bit his lip and moved in. ‘Oh no, don’t do that,’ Karkat thought. A blush crept across his face. The two kissed. It wasn’t fair. Karkat was gently pressed into the couch. His heart pounded. ‘How could this human be so cruel?’ Karkat asked himself. The troll never wanted to feel this way about anyone. He never wanted to get into something so emotional. He lived by a simple code: ‘Love stories never end happy’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry for the late update. My life before this week has been mundane. However all of a sudden all my friends want to hang out and mess up my updates. Like, I love you guys but FUCK. Speaking of fuck, there is some scandalous material in this chapter so enjoy.

            Karkat jolted awake. His heart raced uncontrollably. He looked around. The bedroom was dark, and silent. Outside the moonlight cast long grey shadows across the room. It was a full moon tonight. The quiet rang in his ears. He gripped the bed sheets.

            It was another nightmare. Karkat hadn’t had one in a while. This one was particularly bad. Even though there were no clear signs of danger, Karkat couldn’t quell his dread. The worst part was no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember the dream.

            A knock sounded at his door before it opened slightly. “Yo,” Dave called. “Mind if I come in?” The blond was dressed in his PJs, and was still wearing those fucking gog damn glasses. If Karkat wasn’t so scared he would have told him to leave right then.

            “Uh, so I don’t want to intrude but I heard yelling. You ok?” Dave asked.

            Karkat suddenly felt startled. He didn’t remember yelling. “I think I had a nightmare,” Karkat responded. “Sorry I woke you up. I’m fine.”

            Dave walked in and sat on the bed. “Must have been a pretty gross. You sounded like you were in pain,” He said.

            Karkat looked down and noticed his bandaged hands. Quickly he lied back in the bed, hiding them under the blanket. “Yea, but I’m fine. I’m use to the nightmares by now.” He replied quickly.

            Dave sucked on his teeth. “Well, I think tonight I want to sleep in this bed specifically,” He said.

            Karkat raised a brow. “I mean, it’s your bed. I suppose I could sleep on the couch,” He replied.

            “Nah, that’s my couch. You can’t sleep there,” Dave said.

            “Ok then can I sleep in your bed?”

            “Nah, that’s mine too.”

            Dave crawled over to the other side of Karkat and slipped under the blanket. Once he was in the blanket he shifted onto his side. Karkat watched him for a moment before he began to doze off. Karkat rolled over and heard the sheets rustle behind him. Warm arms wrapped around his side. Karkat winced and shifted up. He soon fell into a dreamless sleep.  

            Karkat was awakened by the alarm on his phone. Sluggishly he picked up the small device and tossed it across the room. He grumbled and got up. Walking over to the phone he picked it up and dismissed the alarm. When he looked up he faced an empty bed. The events of last night came back to him. He stared at his bandaged hands.

            Quickly he slipped on a hoodie and walked into the hall. Dave could be seen in the kitchen, moving around. The sound of clattering metal echoed in the apartment. Slipping past The troll greeted Dave and walked into the bathroom. Karkat quickly locked the door.

            Discarding his clothes, Karkat examined his injuries. There was gauze taped onto his ribs, wrapped around his arm and hands. Karkat frowned. This was going to be hard to hide. The troll quickly freshened up. As Karkat washed his face, his reflection stared back at him. Leaning in, Karkat looked at his reddening eyes. The color was noticeable now. In fact, Karkat thought his skin may have even gotten darker. This sudden discovery made him nervous. He shook off his thoughts and dried his face. Once finished he put his clothes back on and walked into the living room.

            In the kitchen, Dave had placed two dishes on the counter. He stood over them proudly. The blond was wearing an apron over his pjs. He called over to Karkat. “Hey sleeping beauty,” He said. “Come get some fucking grub”.

            The food itself looked mediocre but the look on Dave’s face was priceless. “You may be wondering when the five star cook that made this tantalizing, mouthwatering chow came in to grace us with his presence on his valuable time. Don’t fret, you didn’t miss Gordon Ramsay’s ranting and raving. No, no. Someone else, who is much more handsome, spent an hour of his life watching food network to master their ancient secrets. Tis I who made this scrumptious delicacy. Don’t feel obligated to literally kiss the cook. I mean, I just made you life nourishing sustenance. It’s no big deal”.

            Karkat scoffed and took a seat at the table. He examined the food in front of him. The majority of the food was a yellow spongy looking substance. There were also strips of something dark and leathery looking, possibly meat. Karkat sniffed the food and contemplated if trolls could digest whatever this was. In any case, Karkat couldn’t say no to that face and he ate the food.

            After Karkat was ready Dave took him to work. Karkat emailed the troll girl and planned on meeting her sometime this week. The rest of the day was mildly boring. The only thing interesting was when Karkat went on his lunch break and realized his wallet was still in the backpack. He cursed his luck.

Back at his office, Karkat received 1 new email. Kanaya had messaged him back saying she was free tonight. Karkat rolled his eyes and sent her back an email. They would meet up at a restaurant near Dave’s house at 8. She replied in half an hour. He would meet her today, great. After work he called Dave and went home.

            Karkat went into his room. The backpack was lying where he left it in plain sight. He walked over to the bag and opened it. Inside the bag was an extra item, something he didn’t remember placing in there. Karkat pulled out a plastic baggy of small tablets. It took him a moment to realize what was in the bag. His mouth dropped open. In that moment Dave walked into the room.

            “Dude,” He said.

            Karkat was quiet. He looked between the baggie and Dave.

            “Is that,” Dave paused. “No fucking way.”

            “Um,” Karkat stumbled on his words. “Mission accomplished.”

            Dave walked over. “Ok, when did you get this? No, you know what, I don’t care about that. Did you go that dealer I told you about?”

            “No,” Karkat replied “I got these from someone else.”

            “As long as you didn’t do anything stupid, we’re good,” Dave said. “Hand that shit over.”

            Karkat felt something sink in his stomach as he handed over the bag. Dave looked the bag over and his eyebrows raised. “Dude,” Dave said. “Peyote?” He chuckled.

            “Is that good?” Karkat asked.

            “We’re going to have a blast,” Dave replied. “You have to try this with me.”

            “Um, fuck that?” Karkat replied.

            “Oh come on Karkat,” Dave placed a hand on his hip. “You need to grow up and stop being so conservative.”

            “Excuse me?” Karkat said.

            “You are a spineless baby troll!” Dave said, tauntingly.

            “Ok first, fuck you. Second, it’s called a grub. Third, fuck you.”

            “Please Karkat?”

            “Let me think. Hmm, you know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking that watching you make yourself into a bigger jackass will be more fun, sober.”

            “Whatever Scrooge Mc Karkrabby.” Dave left the room and Karkat sat on the floor alone. Once again he looked hard at his hands, hidden by the hoodie. The sinking feeling was eating away at him. The troll got up and walked to the living room.

            Dave was in the kitchen. He had a glass of water in one hand as he walked out and sat on the couch. A satisfied smile was set on his face. Bending over, he picked up the remote to the TV and turned it on. A cartoon channel came to life on the screen.

            Karkat sat down next to him. The glass of water was placed on a coaster. Karkat noticed that one of the pills was resting at the bottom of the drink. “You're not going to swallow it?” Karkat asked.

            Dave didn't look away from the TV. “Nah, you drink the water,” He replied. “You really should try some.”

            “No thanks,” Karkat mumbled.

            At the next commercial break, Dave sat up and picked the glass up. He began to take long sips of the water. When he placed it back, half of the glass was empty. Dave sat back against the couch. He smiled as the show came back on.

            Karkat watched Dave closely. In the passing minutes he became more relaxed. The blond giggled at the stupid jokes on the show, and wore a semi-permanent, dopy smile. He reached up to his glasses and took them off. With closed eyes he tilted his head back onto the coach and groaned. He let his shades fall onto the couch.

            A faint smell passed Karkat’s nose. It was a peculiar scent that Karkat hadn’t noticed. The smell had a musty quality, similar to sweat. It wasn’t a bad smell though. In fact, it was kind of intoxicating. It made Karkat feel warm, and a little swoony.

            Dave slowly opened his eyes. His head lolled to the side and he looked directly at Karkat. The troll’s breath hitched and he couldn’t look away. They stared at each other for a long moment. Karkat felt stupid but he didn’t want to look away. His eyes were so pretty. They were so red. They stirred up something terrible in Karkat. He didn’t want to think of it. The thought made his stomach turn. Red feelings.

            The human moved over and got closer to Karkat until he was right next to him. The height difference was visible. He looked down at Karkat, still transfixed. The blond bit his lip and moved in. ‘Oh no, don’t do that,’ Karkat thought. A blush crept across his face. The two kissed. It wasn’t fair. Karkat was gently pressed into the couch. His heart pounded. ‘How could this human be so cruel?’ Karkat asked himself. The troll never wanted to feel this way about anyone. He never wanted to get into something so emotional. He lived by a simple code: ‘Love stories never end happy’.

            Dave’s mouth began to nip on Karkat’s neck. The troll moaned softly as large hands began to explore his body. Dave felt his way under Karkat’s shirt and up to his sides. A finger brushed against his ribs. Karkat squirmed. He unsheathed. No, it was happening to fast. It shouldn’t have done that so easily.

            Dave bit down on Karkat’s neck, hard. The troll growled. Dave growled back, louder. His hand reached around and forcefully grabbed Karkat’s bottom. Karkat chirred. The appendage was slowly making itself comfortable in Karkat’s tightening pants. Karkat grabbed Dave by the hair and brought their lips together again. He ran his fingers through the blond locks. His hair was soft.

            Karkat felt a tugging on his hoodie. The blond took his mouth away and whispered in the troll’s ear. “Take it off,” He commanded.

The idea brought Karkat back down to earth. No, he couldn’t see the bandages. Karkat whispered back, “NOT ON YOUR LIFE”.

Dave chuckled and tugged on the troll’s pants. “I wanted to enjoy the moment but we can get right into it”.

Karkat’s heart jumped at the implication. He began to take off his pants. The outline of his bulge could be seen through his underwear, coiling around itself. The scene was absolutely lewd, but Dave enjoyed it. He smiled and began to take off his own pants.

The large appendage in his underwear bounced as his pants were tossed aside. Karkat felt himself dive deeper into the warmth in his chest. Dave touched the bulge through the thin fabric. Karkat’s breathe shallowed. He raised a hand towards his horns and rubbed one, groaning. Dave raised a brow and smacked Karkat’s hand. Karkat jolted and looked at him questioningly before he felt fingers on his horn, brushing against it lightly. Karkat’s eyes closed and his bulge thrashed. “FUCK…” He breathed.

Karkat reached to his underwear and slid them off, tossing them off the couch. Dave’s eyes wandered down. He shifted his weight and took the bulge in his other hand. Karkat gasped lightly. Dave smirked. Karkat knew what that look meant. He reached into Dave’s underwear and stroked the appendage. Dave moaned. Karkat smirked back. He wasn’t powerless here.

Dave raised a brow and took his hands back. Karkat frowned until he saw Dave taking off his own underwear. He really did have huge genitalia.   He had seen it before, but he never imaged that they would have sex. He gulped. The thing may even be as big as a purple blood’s bulge. Would it even fit?

“HEY DAVE?” He said, hesitantly.

“Yea babe?” Dave replied. Karkat blushed at the name.

“THIS IS EMBARESSING BUT I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY DONE THIS BEFORE,” Karkat replied. “COULD YOU START SLOW?” The troll felt awkward saying anything but, he didn’t want to be torn in half.

Dave’s eyes slowly widened. He grit his teeth, and laid down against Karkat. Head resting next to the troll’s ear he said, “Don’t worry. I’m going to treat you like a god damn treasure”.

There was something in Dave’s voice that Karkat couldn’t understand. He almost sounded angry.   The troll’s thoughts were thrown aside when Dave’s hand brushed through his hair. When Dave rose up onto his arms, Karkat could see a gleam in his eyes. Dave smiled and kissed Karkat.

Dave positioned himself and slowly pushed in. Karkat was breathing heavily but to his surprise he didn’t feel much pain.

The further Dave pushed, the tighter the space got. Dave moaned. It was so hot and tight. It took all of his patience not to just pound into him. He just wanted to claim what he wanted. He wanted selfish pleasure.

Karkat enjoyed the feeling of being full. However the human had more to spare. As Dave’s member went in further, Karkat began to feel panicky. He placed a hand on the human’s broad chest.

“IT’S TOO BIG,” Karkat moaned. “FUCK.”

“Does it hurt?” Dave asked.

“NO, I’M…I’M SCARED.”

“Do you need a moment to--adjust?”

“…YEAH.”

The two laid on the couch in silence. The only sound in the whole world was Karkat’s breathing.

“OK,” Karkat said. “MOVE.”

Dave pushed his hips all the way until his skin met Karkat’s.

“Oh my god,” He groaned. “Shit, you feel like heaven.”

Dave pulled out slightly and pushed back in. Karkat gasped.

“What?” Dave asked.

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT?” Karkat responded.

“Because…This is how people…Karkat how do you not know this?”

“THIS ISN’T NATURAL.”

“What?”

“WHY ARE YOU MOVING?”

“…What?”

“OH MY FUCKING—IS THIS HOW YOU MAMMELS DO THIS?”

“This is how you fuck, Karkat.”

“NO! YOU’RE BULGE IS SUPPOSED TO MOVE AROUND INSIDE MY NOOK.”

“I’m not a magician.”

“WAIT, ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME, IN YOUR DRUGGED OUT HAZE, THAT HUMAN BULGES DON’T MOVE? IS THIS THE TRUTH YOU’RE LAYING ON ME RIGHT NOW, AS YOU ARE A FOOT DEEP INSIDE ME?”

“But I can’t be a foot. I’m just Harry,” Dave responded in an English accent.

“GET OFF OF ME. YOU’RE GOING TO DESTROY MY NOOK.”

“No wait, just give it a try. If you’re really uncomfortable I’ll get off but, just give it a try.”

Karkat huffed. “PLEASE DON’T HURT ME”.

Dave’s heart sped up. “I’d never dream of it”.

Dave started slow. He pulled out and back in. Karkat chirred. Dave began breathing heavier. His face was turning red. He took shallow thrusts. When Karkat looked at him he looked away for a moment but then looked back and smiled, shyly.

Karkat wrapped his legs around Dave. Karkat moaned loudly. Dave thrust in absent mindedly and Karkat hissed. Dave apologized. After a few minutes Dave felt something strange.

“What the fuck,” He said.

“WHA…” Karkat’s voice was breathy.

“Your insides are messaging my dick,” Dave said. “Oh fuccckk.”

“THAT’S SO FUCKING DIRTY, DON’T SAY THAT OUT LOUD!!!”

“This isn’t normal! Unff.” Dave huffed and began speeding up.

His nook started stinging. Karkat placed a hand on Dave’s chest, again. A feeling was building up in Karkat’s nook. Karkat began moaning loudly and fell back, covering his mouth. A drop of sweat rolled down Dave’s red face. He picked up Karkat’s hips and began thrusting heavily. Pain and pleasure dueled, and pleasure won. Karkat’s head became fuzzy and he came. He felt like his body was practically floating. Dave thrusted shallowly and pulled out. He came onto Karkat’s stomach. The two stayed there, breathing heavily for a moment before Dave got up and went into the kitchen.

“Water?” He asked.

“PLEASE,” Karkat replied.

Dave came back and handed him a glass of water. Before Karkat got up he took a towel and wiped out Karkat’s stomach. Karkat drank the water thirstily, chugging the entire glass in one sitting. Dave watched Karkat for a moment before he got up again. When Dave return he handed Karkat a blanket.

“I want to paint you,” Dave said.

“Go set yourself up on the chair,” Dave called from outside the room.

Karkat walked over to the Méridienne in Dave’s room.  He wrapped the white blanket around his shoulders, letting it drag on the floor.  “This small couch?”  He called back.

“Yes, I’ll be right in,” Dave responded.

Karkat sat on the plush chair and adjusted the blanket.  He looked up at the sound of the door creaking open.  Dave walked in hand with the easel in one arm, and the paints cradled in the other.  He set himself up in front of the troll, who watched him curiously.  The blond was meticulous in his actions.  He dropped the tubes of paint by his feet and centered the canvas.

“You’re going to have to pose for me, babe,” Dave said without looking up.  He kneeled down and began squeezing paint onto a plastic white pallet.

Karkat furrowed his brows.  “OK, WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

Dave pulled himself up and tapped the end of the paintbrush against his chin.  “I dunno,” He replied.  “Let’s pull something classy.  Why don’t you lay that blanket on the chair?  Ok good, now settle into it.  Yea that looks nice.”

Karkat rested against the couch, awkwardly.

Dave shook his head.  “No, no.  I don’t like it.  Look more…I dunno…look more bored.”

“BORED?”  Karkat replied.

“Yea, and loosen up a little.  You look awkward.”

Karkat sneered and tried to mimic what Dave wanted.

“Just, um, look towards the door.  Ok cool.  Hold that,” Dave commanded.  He twisted his brush into the paint and laid it onto the white canvas.  He bent over and picked up another brush and did the same.  He continued on, switching brushes on and off.  After a while, Karkat didn’t have to pretend to be bored.  He stared at the door, day dreaming.  An hour passed, and then another.  Karkat’s throat burned with thirst.  The dryness made it hard to concentrate.  He looked towards Dave and wondered how the painting was looking.

“Don’t move dammit,” Dave hissed.

Karkat sneered again and looked back at the door.

Another hour past.  Karkat found it hard to stay awake.  His eyes began drooping.  The thirst didn’t subside.  If anything, it was aiding the drowsiness.  Karkat prayed to whomever would listen for Dave to finish.  Soon enough, Dave set down his paint brushes and stood aside.  He swapped glances between Karkat and the painting before smiling a dopy grin.  

“It’s done,” Dave claimed.

“I CAN MOVE?” Karkat asked.  Dave nodded and Karkat practically jumped off the chair.

Karkat pulled the blanket off the couch and wrapped it around himself, again.  He walked over to the painting to look at it.  The painting looked as good as any other Dave had done.  Karkat smiled but was a little surprised.  Dave had added a few details to the painting that he didn’t expect.  Dave had turned the painting of him into a woman.

“WHY AM I A GIRL?” Karkat asked.

“I figured if we were to sell this, you shouldn’t look like—you,” Dave answered.

“THAT SOUNDS FAIR,” Karkat answered.

Dave scratched his head.  “I’m starting to lose my buzz.  Hold on, I’m going to take care of it.  You stay here, don’t leave,” Dave walked over towards the door and stopped half way.  He looked back.  His face had suddenly become serious.  “I mean it”.

Karkat was confused but he agreed.  Dave left and Karkat looked at the painting closer.  It was a really nice painting.  He was a bit embarrassed by how much skin was exposed though.  Karkat’s mind wandered to the painting of the other red blooded troll.  Karkat knew the painting would always be a mystery, but it was something to think about.

Dave had been gone for a long time.  There was no clock here and Karkat didn’t have his phone.  He expected it had to have been more than 20 minutes by now.  Curiously he prodded to the door and looked outside.  Dave wasn’t in sight.  The troll walked out of the room and into the living room.  Dave didn’t seem to be there either.  Dave wasn’t in the kitchen and he wasn’t in the guest room.  Karkat was sure he hadn’t heard the front door.  He glanced over to the closed bathroom door.

            Karkat moved to open the door. On the way, a clock on the wall caught his attention. It was 7:45. Karkat suddenly remembered Kanaya. He scrambled into the room to get dressed. When he was dressed he ran out of the house and yelled to Dave that he would be back, and shut the door. The dead bolt clicked.

            Inside the bathroom, Dave laid in the bathtub. The warm water ran, filling up the tub until the water spilled over the edges. Dave’s hand hung limply over the porcelain ledge. Dave’s eyes were closed. His body began to slide until his head was just under the water. His hair swayed but he didn’t move.

            Above the water, the light shifted and the upper world contorted in ripples. It was quiet here. Every sound was muffled. Warmth surrounded him. It would have been easy for him to stay under the water. He felt peaceful. Dave didn’t have a choice however. He had blacked out. His lungs could only hold for so long.

            In the upper world, a grey hand turned off the faucet. A blurry vision pulled Dave’s upper body above the water. The troll smiled. He picked up the human and carried him into the bedroom, setting him down on the bed.

            The troll proceeded to pick some of the paint supplies laying on the floor and walked out of the room. He entered the bathroom and let the water drain. As he watched the water drain, he got an idea. He took the supplies and painted on the bathroom tile. When the troll was done, he set the paint down and walked out of the apartment.

Later Dave would awaken. He would notice a few things. First, Karkat was missing. Next he noticed a red mess on his white couch.   Then to his horror he noticed a declaration of war on his bathroom wall. :O)


	10. Dave the Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave stood near the fire. The music began to pick up again. Slowly, he moved his body with the beat. Laughter stirred from somewhere. The people in the inner sanctum of the crowd watched the blond. The music sped to the crescendo and when it dropped, it fell hard. His body flowed. People cheered and when he did a few cool moves they exploded with excitement. The people had made a sort of semi-circle around him. Then at the right moment, when the music went in for another drop, Dave did a back flip. Everyone cheered and moved in, blocking the sight of the blond from Karkat. Dave howled again and Karkat smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter today. Oh, the drama. Enjoy!

Clouds rolled past as Dave drove down the road. The sound of the radio echoed in the car. “In other news, the gang members known as the “Island Waifs” have been arrested. Yesterday, Thursday July 16th the police surrounded their hide out on 111 Kings Boulevard. The gang members, Jade Harley and Jake English, are in police custody. The teenagers face numerous charges including armed robbery, assault, and the sale of numerous drugs.   Harley and English will allegedly be charged as adults. More news will be posted once available.”

            Dave fiddled with the radio until a popular song came on. “Oh shit, this is my jam,” He commented. The blond began to hum the song as he drove.

            Karkat sat uncomfortably in the passenger side. By this time, Karkat had taken off the all the bandages. His bare hands sat on his lap, scars now present. That night was only a week ago.

            The two rolled into the post office parking lot, and parked. Karkat got out. “I’LL JUST BE A SECOND,” He said, shutting the door.  

            Once inside the post office, Karkat walked up to the mailboxes and took out a key from his pocket. He located his slot and inserted the key, opening the door. A bundle of envelopes were waiting for him inside. The troll pulled out his mail and flipped through them quickly. He stopped on one letter. It was from the insurance company. The troll closed his mail box and tore it open.

            It was a check. Karkat had gotten the money for his destroyed home. He read the included letter carefully. Taking another look at the check, he left the building. He walked up and climbed into Dave’s car.

            “Anything good?” Dave asked.

            “NO, JUST JUNK,” Karkat replied.

            Dave drove off back to the apartments. Once inside, Karkat walked straight to his room. He opened the bedside table. Shuffling through the envelopes again, he slipped out the check. He placed the other letters inside the draw. Hesitating briefly, he closed his hand and crumpled the check. He threw the wad of paper in the trash and walked into the living room.

            Dave sat on the couch. He had a pair of headphones on, and a glass of water in hand. Karkat could hear the loud music from the hall. He watched Dave take a long sip of water. When the blond went to place it onto a coaster the glass toppled onto the table. Water splashed over the table and a pill slid out.

            Karkat ran to the kitchen and returned with a towel. He quickly cleaned up the water, picking up Dave's soaked phone in the process. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK DAVE?” Karkat asked angrily. The troll raced into the kitchen and wrapped the phone in another towel.

            Dave laid his head against the couch and let out a breath of air. He took off his glasses and threw them across the room. The glasses clattered off the wall and onto the carpet. He closed his eyes and began breathing deeply.

            “ALRIGHT, WE NEED TO GET YOU OUT OF THIS HOUSE,” Karkat said as he walked over to Dave. Dave didn't acknowledge Karkat. The troll walked up and ripped off his head phones. “LISTEN,” Karkat said. “WE'RE GOING OUT TONIGHT.”

            “Our first date?” Dave asked sluggishly.

            “NO, STUPID,” Karkat replied. “WE'RE GOING SOMEWHERE WITH PEOPLE.”

            “Where?”

            “I...I DON'T KNOW...” Karkat frowned and looked to the side. “YOU HAVE FRIENDS. ONE OF THEM MUST BE DOING SOMETHING.”

            “Ugh, I hate people.”

            “...”

            “Ok, don't give me that look. I can't bear to see you mad, magical talking koala.”

            Karkat face palmed.

            “I think Rose said something about a bon fire,” Dave said.

            “FINE, WHATEVER. WE’RE GOING THERE.” Karkat responded.

            “Woo hoo.”

            An hour before unset, the two began packing up for the night. Karkat was going to be prepared. He had his 3 essentials and some water bottles. As he packed, Dave popped his head in the room. The blond frowned instantly.

            “What are you wearing?” Dave asked.

            “DAVE I HAVE THREE OUTFITS.”

            “Ok, fair. Hold on.”

            Dave left the room and came back a few minutes later. In his arms was a pile of garments. “These might fit,” He said, handing over the pile to Karkat. Dave closed the door on his way out. Karkat raised a brow and looked over the clothes before he began changing.

            In a few minutes he came out of the room wearing Dave’s clothes. Dave examined him closely, looking up and down. He gave a thumbs up. Karkat wore a blue button up shirt. The shirt had many small lightly colored triangles in neat rows. Black jeans adorned his legs. On his head was a blue beanie.

            “Alright cool,” Dave smiled. “Let’s go”. Karkat picked up his bag and followed.

            Outside, the sun began to set. The sound of crickets greeted the oncoming night.

            Karkat watched as pink and gold clouds rolled by. They drove out of the city, and down the highway. Past the buildings, he drove down a small road lined with white condos. After a sharp turn, he pulled onto a narrow street and pulled over. He parked the car and got out.

            “The beach is down the road,” Dave said.

            Karkat climbed out. By this time the sun had just dipped past the horizon. A light darkness had settled over the sky. The chill had become slightly stronger and with each breeze came the smell of salt water. Dave met the troll on the passenger side and the two walked down the narrow street.

Down that street they met a dead end marked by a metal barrier. Dave climbed over the barrier and Karkat followed. A group of people stood chatting around a large wooden structure.   A few of the people were squeezing fluid onto the bonfire. Another person was packing papers between the wood.

            A girl from the group noticed Dave and walked over. She talked with him warmly and pulled him over to her group. Karkat followed awkwardly. After a while of standing on the side Karkat walked off and tried to find anyone familiar.

            The people by the bonfire got a bit of a flame going. The sound of cheering filled the air along with the light smell of smoke. A blaze of red and yellow began to cover the wooden surface. Someone somewhere turned up music.

            A hand tapped on Karkat’s shoulder. “KANAYA?” He answered, surprised.

The troll girl stood there smiling. “I Didn’t Expect To See You Here,” She responded. Kanaya was wearing a long flowing green dress. Karkat thought she looked rather pretty.

“I GUESS YOUR FRIENDS WITH WHOEVER’S RUNNING THIS PARTY?” Karkat asked.

“Well, My Sister Is Hosting This Event. I Got Dragged Into It. I Don’t Even Really Know Anyone Here,” Kanaya responded.  

“THAT MAKES TWO OF US.”

“Do You Want To Hang Out?”

“THAT SOUNDS BETTER THAN WHAT I WAS DOING BEFORE.”

“What Was That?”

“BEING AWKWARD”.

Kanaya laughed and motioned for Karkat to follow her. The two sat on a log and watched the festivities from a distance. Karkat offered her a water bottle, which she took. They sipped on water as they chatted.

Karkat tried to spot Dave in the crowd at one point. When he found the human, he seemed to be mingling. A lot of people pulled him around or walked up to him. Dave must be popular.

As the night wore on, a thick darkness covered the beach. People filled in around the only light source and began dancing around the fire. The music was fast and it spread an electric feeling through the air. This energy mixed with the warmth of the fire and the salt air made Karkat euphoric. He watched the dancing figures. The people around him were so fascinating and hypnotic. Their yellow bodies threw long shadows across the sand. Karkat and Kanaya sat chatting as the shadows past over them.  

            Away from the festive dancers, a few people sat around just drinking. Past that, a few people had slipped away to splash in the dark ocean. Karkat briefly wondered if Kanaya would join him but he dismissed the thought. The sky past the ocean was starry and beautiful. He wondered where Dave had gone to.

            The song began to slow down the way that it does before the drop. A howl cut through the sweet night air. Karkat looked over to the bonfire. The dancers had stopped dancing for the most part. Some of them backed away, revealing a shirtless man lapped in red light. The man had body paint splattered on his chest and face, and a feather hat on his head.

Karkat’s mouth dropped open.

“Is That Dave?” Kanaya asked.

            Dave stood near the fire. The music began to pick up again. The vitality lifted through the crowd. A few people on the edge began to dance again. Dave slowly moved his body with the beat. Laughter stirred from somewhere. The people in the inner sanctum of the crowd watched the blond. The music sped to the crescendo and when it dropped, it fell hard. His body flowed. People cheered and when he did a few cool moves they exploded with excitement. The people had made a sort of semi-circle around him. Then at the right moment, when the music went in for another drop, Dave did a back flip. Everyone cheered and moved in, blocking the sight of the blond from Karkat. Dave howled again and Karkat smiled.

            “Wow, He’s Flashy Isn’t He?” Kanaya remarked.

            “NO HE’S JUST A JACKASS,” Karkat replied.

            “You’re Smiling Though. He Must Be Important To you”. Kanaya smiled.

            Karkat blushed. “NO IM JUST HOT—FROM THE FIRE,” He said.

            “If You Like Him, That’s Ok,” Kanaya commented.

            “IT’S NOT LIKE THAT. I HATE HIM”.

            “It’s Ok To Feel That Way Too”.

            “GOG DAMN IT KANAYA”.

            “You Should Go Dance With Him”.

            “THAT SOUNDS FUN ACTUALLY”.

            “Who Knows, Afterwards You Might Get Some Action”.

            “JEGUS”.

           

                Karkat lifted himself from the log and went to look for Dave. The crowd was dense. He tried circling around the edges before diving right in. There were many dancing people, but Dave didn’t seem to be among them. Confused, Karkat searched around.

            Outside of the group, a man was sitting near the ocean. Karkat walked over to Dave and sat next to him. Dave looked over and wrapped an arm around Karkat, pulling him closer. Karkat blushed.

            “SO YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE HAVING FUN,” Karkat said.

            “Maybe,” Dave replied. “I'm having more fun now that you're here.”

            “YOUR DANCING WAS PRETTY AWFUL,”

            Dave laughed. “Thanks”.

            A silence passed between the two. They watched the opaque ocean twitched and slink. Mist floated past them, coating their skin in cold salt. Dave shivered.

            “Hey can I talk to you?” Dave asked, breaking the silence.

            “WHAT IS IT?” Karkat replied.

            Dave laughed awkwardly. “You're going to judge me,” He said.  

            “I ALREADY JUDGE YOU,” Karkat retorted.

            Dave chuckled. His smile dropped. “I've been having these weird dreams lately. They've been freaking me out and I don't know what to think of them,” Dave said.

            “TELL ME ONE OF THEM,” Karkat said.

            “I don't want you to think I’m crazy”.

            “YOU CAN TRUST ME STUPID”.

            Dave looked at Karkat and then back at the ocean.

            “I've been having these vivid dreams. You know how in some dreams you're someone else? In these dreams I’m me but I’m living someone else's life. I'm in these fantastical worlds and I have this shitty sword like I’m some sort of knight or something. It's so crazy. I'm fighting these monsters. Then I’m talking to these people and trolls I've never met. I'm talking to them and I feel like I know them. I know they're most personal secrets. But the thing is, these people are real. I see them on the streets. I know I’ve never met these people before, Karkat. Like Rose, I already knew everything about her before I met her. I've even seen myself, as a separate person, die in my dreams. It's so fucked up. I've...” Dave hesitated. “I've seen you in my dreams too. That's why I wanted to be your friend.”

            Dave took a deep breathe. “I had a dream last night. In my dream we were at some sort of great battle and I saw you die. Then I died. I don't know how to feel. I'm really freaked out. What do I do Karkat?”

            Karkat was quiet. He tried to grab around for the right words but everything was a little too much to take in. He had strange dreams before, but nothing to that magnitude. He settled on how he felt and spoke.

            “I think you need professional help,” Karkat said.

            “You think I'm crazy,” Dave responded.

            “No. I just think you have things you may have to work through”.

            Dave suddenly stood up and walked towards the bonfire. Karkat watched the blond grab an alcoholic beverage from a cooler and disappear into the crowd. The troll looked back towards the ocean.

            “Damn it,” He said to himself. A pain started to grow in his chest.

            “FUCK!” Karkat yelled. No one took notice of him. The music was too loud. Karkat hugged his knees and stayed there till the ocean made him colder than death. He then got up and walked to find Kanaya.

            Karkat found the troll girl sitting on the log. She was busy looking at her phone until Karkat walked up. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned off her phone.

            “Are You Ok?” She asked, slightly disturbed.

            “No. I don’t know,” Karkat sighed. “I think I need to leave”.

            “Do You Need A Ride?”

            “…Yea…”

            “Ok, Let Me Just Tell My Sister I’m Leaving”.

            Kanaya got up and walked into the crowd. Karkat scanned through the people and tried to find Dave. When that failed, he pulled out his phone and quickly texted Dave what was going on. Kanaya came back in a few minutes. The two left the party and went to her car. The street was empty by this time. Karkat checked his phone. It was almost 12. He looked up as he heard an alarm steadily rising. An ambulance past them and continued down the road.                        

“This Is Why I Don’t Like My Sister’s Parties Or Her Friends,” Kanaya commented. “Things Always Get Out Of Hand”.

The car continued down the road and the two trolls made small talk. Karkat watched the orange street lights as they flew by above his head. He couldn’t stop thinking about Dave.  

“I should have listened to my gut,” Karkat said.

“What Happened Back There, If You Don’t Mind Me Asking,” Kanaya asked.

“I fell for the wrong person,” Karkat replied.

“His Dancing Wasn’t That Bad”.

“You don’t understand,” Karkat said. “He’s a narcissistic prick and apparently he’s delusional”.

“What Do You Mean, Again, If You Don’t Mind Me Asking,” Kanaya asked.

“He told me he’s been having dreams about me. He said he felt like he already knew me, and he said he saw me die,” Karkat began getting emotional. “Wouldn’t that freak you out?”

“I Can See This In Two Perspectives. From One, That Is Creepy. It Certainly Wouldn’t Be Something I Would Want To Hear From Someone I Liked,” Kanaya paused. “Yet From My Point Of View, I’ve Felt That Way Before.”

“I guess but, It’s still kind of crazy,” Karkat replied.

“When we met a few nights ago, do you remember what you said to me?” Kanaya asked.

Karkat tried to remember back to that night but could only remember what he and Dave had done. He blushed. “Not particularly,” He said.

“We Met At That Restaurant And I Showed You A Few Of My Dance Videos Off My Phone. You Asked Me If I Made My Dress In The Video And I Had. Then You Asked If I Ever Wanted To Get Into Fashion. You Didn’t Know That It Was A Secret Hobby Of Mine”.

“So?”

“So, Sometimes You Meet People And Even Though You’ve Known Them For 5 Minutes It Feels Like A Lifetime”.

“He saw me die though”.

“Maybe You Were Acquaintances In A Past Life?”

“That’s a hard thing to expect someone to believe”.

“Well, The World Is A Mysterious Place”.

“…”

“Give Him Another Shot. In The Worst Case, He Has Some Issues. He’s Not Going Off Killing People. Take Care Of Him”.

“…YOU WOULD MAKE A GOOD LUSUS,” Karkat replied.

Kanaya laughed. “I Bet We Were Good Friends In Another Life, As Well,” She said.

Kanaya pulled up to Dave’s apartment and dropped Karkat off. They said their goodbye’s before she drove away. Karkat walked into the apartments and up the stairs. A figure stood by Dave’s door. When Karkat got closer, the troll turned around.

“GAMZEE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?” Karkat asked.

Gamzee chuckled. “HeY tHeRe, bRoThEr,” He greeted. “WhAt’S hApPeNiNg?”

“I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME,” Karkat said as he walked closer.

“I wAnTeD tO sEe If A bRo WoUlD cHiLl AnD sLaM sOmE wIcKeD eLiXiR,” Gamzee responded. “YoU kNoW hOw It Is”.

Karkat walked up to the door and unlocked it. “WELL IT’S TOO LATE RIGHT NOW. MAYBE ANOTHER TIME,” he said. The door opened and Karkat walked in.

“AlRiGhT tHeN, GuEsS iLl JuSt HaNg By MySeLf AnD eXpLoRe ThE mIrAcLe Of SoLiTuDe,” Gamzee responded.

“WHATEVER, GOOD NIGHT,” Karkat said as he closed the door.

Gamzee stood outside the door for a moment longer before he pocketed the credit card in his hand and walked out of the building, mumbling to himself, “NeXt TiMe I nEeD tO bE a LiTtLe QuIcKeR iS aLl”.

Karkat stayed awake for an hour before he began to get nervous. There was no sign from Dave. He texted him. In half an hour, he got no response. This time he tried to call him. His phone went to voicemail. He tried once more and someone picked up. Before Karkat could speak the voice on the end of the line interrupted.

“Who’s this?” The voice wasn’t Dave’s. Whoever it was had a thick southern accent though.

“WHO’S THIS?” Karkat responded.

There was a click. The other person had hung up.

Karkat decided that Dave would be home in the morning. He went into his room and fell asleep. Karkat slept for a good few hours but was awoken by the sound of the front door slamming. The troll groggily came out of his sleep and got up.

Dave was standing in the living room, with his back turned. Karkat smiled.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?” Karkat asked, voice thick from sleep.

Dave turned around and Karkat jumped. This person wasn’t Dave. He had blond hair, fair skin, and he was tall, but he wasn’t Dave. Karkat backed up in surprise.

“Who are you?” The stranger asked. He looked more mad than surprised. Karkat recognized the voice from the phone. He was the human who picked up Dave’s phone.

“WHERE’S DAVE?” Karkat asked, suddenly alert.

“Tell me who you are or I’m calling the police,” The blond responded.

“I THINK I SHOULD BE SAYING THAT TO YOU!” Karkat said.

“I’m Dave’s brother,” The stranger said. “And you’re leaving this apartment”.


	11. Young and Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurloz sat in the chair across from him. He smiled. Karkat tried to smile back. The tall troll rose his arms and began trying to communicate with his hands.
> 
> Karkat frowned, “SORRY, I DON’T KNOWN SIGN LANGUAGE…”
> 
> The troll looked around momentarily and got up from the table. He returned with a note pad and a pencil and began to scribble something out. When he was done he past the note across the table. “WANNA SEE SOMETHING COOL?” The note read in heavy purple print.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fun chapter ahead. I took a few artistic liberties, such as adding another person, and used this video as Inspiration for the dance. I recommend reading the chapter before watching the video though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1rmktHvvs0 . Enjoy.

The tall blond man held his ground. He took a powerful stance and raised his chest. “GET OUT OF THIS GOD DAMN APARTMENT,” He bellowed. Karkat knew what the human was doing. He had seen the video’s demonstrating this technique. The man was trying to assert dominance. It was a tool human’s tried to use on trolls if they felt threatened.

Karkat snarled, brandished his claws, and bared his teeth. “FUCKING, MAKE ME!” He screeched.

In minutes the police were escorting the troll off the premises. A yellow blooded troll in blue was levitating Karkat with blue and yellow force. Karkat struggled, but with no grounding he couldn’t resist. The troll dumped him off onto the sidewalk.

Karkat rebounded onto his knees quickly. “I LIVE HERE,” He protested.

“I’m sure,” The troll responded. The two officers strolled around Karkat and into the police car.

Dave’s brother walked out of the apartment a minute later. Karkat began growling again before the man spoke up loudly.

“Isn’t this going against your training?” He asked.

Karkat stopped growling. “WHAT-“ The human interrupted.

“You know, back in troll obedience school? ‘No aggressive behavior’, ‘No violence towards humans’. Does any of that sound familiar?” The tall blond walked up to Karkat and towered over him. “Maybe you need more training.”

Karkat watched with wide eyes as the human walked away. An expensive car was parked a little down the street. The human walked into the passenger side and the car drove off. The police vehicle left shortly afterwards.

Karkat sat on the grass for a while before he got up and tried to get back into the apartment. Dave’s door was locked and Karkat didn’t have the key. He cursed and decided to go to the only place he could think of.

The bus ride and walked together took over an hour. Karkat began regretting throwing out the check. He could have at least bought a car.

Karkat looked at the building for a moment before walking around the back and knocking on the door. A moment later the sound of footsteps could be heard. The door opened. An extremely tall and lean troll stood in the doorway. He was so tall, in fact, that he was almost the height of the door. The troll had long curly black hair and wore similar face paint to the other troll he knew. The troll tilted his head, questioningly.

“HEY IS GAMZEE HERE?” Karkat asked.

The troll smiled and nodded. The two stood there for another minute longer.

“CAN I COME IN?” Karkat asked.

The troll frowned and shook his head.

“WHY THE FUCK NOT?” Karkat asked.

“WhOs At ThE mOtHeRfUcKiNg DoOr?” Gamzee called from somewhere upstairs.

“IT’S KARKAT,” Karkat yelled.

The sound of footsteps came plummeting down the stairs before the tall troll was shoved aside, against the wall. Gamzee grabbed Karkat’s arm and began to drag him up the stairs.

            “WHO’S THAT?” Karkat asked.

            Gamzee sighed heavily, clearly annoyed. “DoN'T wOrRy ThAt's My BrOtHeR. I sWeAr He's FuCkInG rEtArDeD”.

            Karkat was pulled through the living room of the apartment straight to the kitchen. Gamzee pulled out a seat and lightly pushed Karkat into it. The troll proceeded to run around to the other side of the table and sit down. He adjusted himself in the chair, scraping it against the tile floor, then looked back with a wide grin.  

            “So WhAt BrInGs YoU tO tHiS sTy?” Gamzee asked.

            Karkat glanced away, and looked back. Gamzee’s smile was sort of creepy. “IT’S A LONG STORY,” he said.

            “AlL i GoT gOiNg On Is SiTtInG hErE tHiNkInG aBoUt SlAmMiNg ThE wIcKeD eLiXiR aNd MaYbE mAkInG a PiE lAtEr,” Gamzee said. “Im AlL aBoUt FrIeNdShIp AnD sUcH, My BrOtHeR”.

            Karkat grumbled and told Gamzee what happened in the past 24 hours. Gamzee was either a really good listener or not paying attention at all. He wore a zoned out, happy smile the entire duration of Karkat’s rambling. When Karkat finished the story Gamzee kind of looked like he was deep in thought before speaking.

            “HONK,” He said.

            “WHAT--WHAT IS THAT THING YOU JUST SAID?” Karkat asked.

            “HONK,” Gamzee said again.

            “THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT YOU SAID. OK, MIGHT I SAY THAT THIS HAS BEEN THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST WASTE OF MY OWN TIME, AND I WASTE MY OWN TIME JUST BY BEING ALIVE. I CAN’T EVEN COMPREHEND WHY I WOULD EVEN THINK OF COMING TO YOU WITH MY PROBLEMS. YOU MY SO CALLED FRIEND. I WOULD HAVE HAD A MORE ENLIGHTENING EXPERIENCE BY BANGING MY HEAD AGAINST THE SIDEWALK. I CANT BELIEVE I TOLD YOU ALL OF MY MOST EMBARESSING FEELINGS. THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST CROTCH CHAFFINGLY PAINFUL—WHAT 10?—10 MINTES OF MY ENTIRE EXISTANCE. AND YOU, YOU ARE THE MOST MIND BOGGLING DUMB FUCKIN—“

            With a loud snapping sound, Karkat’s eyes filled with a glowing purple color. He promptly stopped speaking mid-sentence, mouth hanging on his last word. Gamzee broke out of his stupor and moved his body to look behind the smaller troll.

            “WhO tOlD yOu YoU cOuLd Do ThAt?” Gamzee growled.

            The tall troll stood in the living room, with his hands out. He moved his hands and began speaking in sign language.

            “HIS RETCHED VOICE WAS GIVING ME A HEADACHE,” Karkat answered. His voice was a few tones deeper with a slight echo.

            Gamzee narrowed his eyes. “StOp ThAt,” He said.

            “YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE, MY INVERTABROTHER,” Karkat replied.

            “KuRlOz, I’lL rIp OuT YoUr MoThErFuCkInG wInD pIpE,” Gamzee growled.

            “I DOUBT YOU COULD,” Karkat said.

            Gamzee stood up and hissed.

            Karkat stood up in return.

            Gamzee tried to walk out of the kitchen but was blocked by karkat.

            “OH GAMZEE, I WANT YOU TO DO DIRTY THINGS TO ME,” Karkat said, voice suddenly normal. Gamzee’s eyes widened and he shoved the troll out of the way. Gamzee walked towards Kurloz. The tall troll smiled. Karkat blocked Gamzee’s view again.

            “DO YOU DESIRE THIS MUTANT, MY BROTHER?” Karkat asked.

            “ThAt's NoNe Of YoUr BuIsNeSs,” Gamzee replied.

            “OH BUT IT IS,” Karkat said. “YOU’VE BEEN DISTRACTED.”

            Gamzee tried to walk around the smaller troll but he moved quickly. Gamzee growled in vein at the unresponsive troll.

            “I KNOW WHAT YOU’VE BEEN UP TO,” Karkat said. “YOU’VE BEEN A BAD TROLL. MESSING WITH OTHER HUMANS, LIKE YOU ARE. BREAKING INTO HOMES, CALLING THE POLICE ON THOSE CHILDREN. THEN THERE’S THIS ONE. OH HE’S SO LOVELY ISN’T HE? I BET HE COULD FETCH A GOOD PRICE IN AN AUCTION”.

            Gamzee’s eyes turned bright purple and Karkat’s breathe hitched. The smaller troll’s eyes suddenly became a lighter shade. Kurloz’s eyes returned to normal and he frowned, signing to Gamzee.

            “ThEn DoN’t ToUcH hIm,” Gamzee replied.

            Kurloz smiled and Karkat gasped. His eyes turned the darker color of Kurloz’s eyes. Gamzee growled and started towards Karkat before he was cut off.

            “HE WON’T BE GOOD TO EITHER OF US IF YOU CONTINUE TO BE GREEDY,” Karkat said.    

            “He’S nOt GoInG To Be GoOd FoR yOu In AnY sEnSe,” Gamzee said.

Gamzee attempted to take over Karkat again. Kurloz waved a hand this time and the color blinked out of Gamzee’s eyes. A clicking sound alerted the two purple blooded trolls. Behind them, a boom box began playing a song. The sound was deep and familiar, a popular song. The female human began singing: _I’ve seen the world, done it all, had my cake now…_

Kurloz smiled and waves his hands. Karkat began to move. He bent forward. Balancing on one leg, he allowed his other leg to arch above him in a fluid motion. His body swiveled. Gamzee tried to take over again, and the troll fell to the ground. He writhed for a moment before Kurloz took over, rolling his body to the side and getting to his knees. His back leg extended again and back down. Kurloz walked towards the dancing troll, who in returned rolled towards him. Karkat folded over himself and Kurloz laid his hands on the trolls back, making him lift up his upper body up. The troll followed the movement and moved his hands to the sides of the Karkat’s head. Hands moving up, Karkat followed and rose to his feet.

The small troll twirled as his eyes turned a brighter purple, and he fell backwards onto Gamzee’s arms. He hopped and Gamzee followed, keeping his hands laced around the smaller troll’s as he leaned forward. Gamzee was battling against Kurloz. He suddenly lost his grip and Karkat’s upper body dipped. Gamzee pulled the smaller troll back and lifted him. The two spun. Karkat’s back leg extended as they moved. Kurloz walked past and Karkat spun into his arms.

The taller troll grazed Karkat’s jawline with his open palm, and the troll’s upper body leaned back. Kurloz moved his hand in the opposite direction and Karkat’s body whipped forward. The tallest troll snatched the trolls hand with one arm and arched the opposite arm, backwards. Karkat mimicked the motion. He twirled Karkat into him and lifted the troll.

_Will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?_

Kurloz easily lifted the troll up and rested him onto his chest. They spun. He slowly lowered Karkat and began to spin in the opposite direction. When they stopped spinning, Kurloz whipped Karkat into Gamzee. Gamzee caught the troll.

A shrill scream resounded over the music. The purple blooded trolls suddenly looked at Karkat. Kurloz quickly let go of his hold. Gamzee held the troll tightly until he had quieted down completely. Karkat fell silent in Gamzee’s arms. The music stopped playing. A slight scar stood out on Karkat’s forehead.

Gamzee held Karkat close to him and when he noticed the scar, he kissed it.

Kurloz kicked a piece of furniture to get Gamzee’s attention and started signing.

“Im NoT gOiNg To EaT hIm,” Gamzee replied.

Kurloz tilted his head and signed more.

“WhAt I dO wItH mY mOiRaIl Is My BuSiNeSs,” Gamzee said.

Kurloz signed again.

“I dOn't 'lOvE' AnYtHiNg,” Gamzee replied. “I'M jUsT nOsTaLgIc Is AlL”.

Kurloz chuckled dryly and signed. When Gamzee didn’t look up he kicked the furniture impatiently.

“WhAt In ThE eVeR lOvInG mOtHeR fUcK dO yOu WaNt, yOu FuCkInG iDiOt?” Gamzee growled.

Kurloz signed.

“He's DeAd, eNd Of StOrY,” Gamzee replied before picking up Karkat and taking him back into the kitchen.

Karkat awoke soon after with his head down on a hard, cold surface. When he realized he wasn’t home, he shot up. Karkat was still in Gamzee’s kitchen. He looked around confused. Gamzee was sitting across from him at the table.

“YoU aWaKe ThErE, FrIeNd?” He asked.

“WHAT…” Karkat asked. His head was spinning.

“YoU dOzEd OfF. I wAs GeTtInG wOrRiEd AbOuT yOu,” Gamzee replied.

“OH…” Karkat adjusted himself into the wooden chair.

“YoU wErE tAlKiNg AbOuT dAvE,” Gamzee reminded him.

“I WAS? I DON’T REMEMBER,” Tears welled up in Karkat’s eyes. “I FEEL CONFUSED”.

“ThAt's A nOrMaL sIdE eFfEcT oF uH-- hEaRt AcHe,” Gamzee said.

“IT’S ALL MY FAULT. I SHOULDN’T HAVE LEFT WITHOUT HIM AND,” Karkat tried to swallow the lump in his throat. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF I’LL EVER SEE HIM,”

“WeLl SoMeTiMeS yOu JuSt HaVe To MoVe On AnD gO wItH wHaTeVeR hApPeMs. lIfE'S cRaZy LiKe ThAt,”.

“BUT I DON’T WANT TO MOVE ON. I WANT TO APOLOGIZE”.

Gamzee was silent for a moment. “HoLd On, i WaNt To ShOw YoU sOmEtHiNg”. The troll got up. “DoN'T yOu Up AnD gO wAnDeRiNg AbOuT, I'Ll Be RiGhT bAcK,” Gamzee said before he left the kitchen. The troll ran into a room and shut the door.

Karkat looked around the apartment and began to feel uncomfortable. The fluorescent lights barely illuminated the small, windowless room, tinting all the white appliances a dingy yellow. A light hum reverberated from the ceiling. A picture hung on the fridge door of a creepy looking clown. Karkat grimaced before turning back to be suddenly spooked.

            Kurloz sat in the chair across from him. He smiled. Karkat tried to smile back. The tall troll rose his arms and began trying to communicate with his hands.

Karkat frowned, “SORRY, I DON’T KNOWN SIGN LANGUAGE…”

The troll looked around momentarily and got up from the table. He returned with a note pad and a pencil and began to scribble something out. When he was done he past the note across the table. “WANNA SEE SOMETHING COOL?” The note read in heavy purple print.

Karkat looked to see the trolls smiling face. “I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING BETTER, I GUESS,” He replied, cautiously.

The troll motioned for the notepad back. Once in hand he wrote out another note. He passed it back. “LOOK IN THE HALL CLOSET,” The note read. Kurloz chuckled, as if he were amused, but his voice was raspy and it sounded forced. He pointed a thin finger towards the closet in question.

Karkat got up and walked over to the door. It was positioned right next to the room Gamzee had walked into. He turned the knob and opened it. The closet was small with a large, green object taking up most of the space. Whatever the object was, it looked heavy and it seemed to be made out of tarp. It was dirty too as if it was used outside. In fact it sort of looked like…Karkat stopped mid thought. His blood pressure suddenly rose so quickly, he became dizzy. His body started shaking uncontrollably. This thing was a tent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 


	12. Danger

Karkat ran down the stairs and out of the apartment. It was only until he ran down multiple blocks that he looked over his shoulder. Someone was chasing him from a distance. Thinking fast, he turned a few corners, and tried to lose the troll. However, he wasn't the most fit person. Karkat began feeling tired. His chest burned. Worst of all, when he looked behind him, the troll had only gotten closer. This gap between them would only shrink and as the troll got closer his features could be better determined. Kurloz was chasing him.

“STOP FOLLOWING ME!” Karkat yelled, slightly shocked. Kurloz only ran faster. Karkat tried to pick up his speed but to no luck. When Karkat looked back, Kurloz had suddenly vanished. He looked straight and almost collided with the troll. Kurloz had rounded a corner and got in front of Karkat. The smaller troll fell trying to stop. He held his head and groaned. Kurloz approached him.

The tall troll and extended a hand.

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” Karkat asked between groans. When the pain in his head had lessened, Karkat got up on his own and glared at the other troll. He patted off the dust on his clothes. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

Kurloz shrugged, a smile plastered on his clown face. Karkat grimaced.

“OK WHATEVER, FINE. FOLLOW ME. BUT IF YOU GET IN MY WAY YOU'LL WISH YOU NEVER FOLLOWED ME,” Karkat said, walking past the troll. The troll signed to Karkat. “I STILL CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU,” Karkat said as he walked past him.

The two walked on until Karkat found a bus stop. Then the two waited in silence. Karkat watched the other troll carefully. Someone else joined them at the bus stop, a female human. Kurloz waved to her and she waved back, guardedly. When the bus arrived the two got on.

In an hour the two had made it back to Dave's apartment. There were no signs of cars or people anywhere. Karkat sighed. He walked into the apartment and up the stairs. When he got to Dave's door, he knocked. No answer. No sounds. Karkat tried the doorknob. Locked. He bumped his head against the door in defeat.

A hand waved Karkat away. Kurloz stepped in front of the door. Slightly annoyed, Karkat stepped back and watched him. The tall troll went into his pocket and took out a credit card.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” Karkat asked.

The troll didn't respond, as he carefully moved the card in between the door frame. Kurloz pushed and the door opened. Karkat's jaw dropped. The two walked in.

“UM THANKS,” Karkat said. He searched the apartment but found no one. Karkat noticed some items were missing though. A shirt was draped over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Karkat picked it up and noticed it was Dave’s. He hesitated for a moment, and then brought the shirt up to his face. He inhaled deeply, and pulled the shirt closer. It smelled like him, warmth and soap. Tears formed in his eyes. He brushed them away and took in a deep breath.

  
“UGH I’M SUCH AN IDIOT!” Karkat yelled.

Kurloz popped his head in from the hall and tilted his head. Karkat looked at the troll. A warmth began to pool into his stomach. He grimaced, his face turning a deep shade of red. Not here, not now.

Kurloz walked over to Karkat. The tall troll bent over and placed his face near Karkat’s neck, and sniffed. Karkat’s body stiffened. He dropped the shirt. The hairs on his arms stood up straight. Kurloz growled and nipped at Karkat’s neck. The tall troll moved forward, and pushed the smaller one back. Karkat’s eyes were wide, he couldn’t withstand the movement. His feet stumbled back, until he bumped into a solid object. He was pressed into the counter.

Kurloz made a deep noise in his throat. It was a sound Karkat had never heard another troll make. It was deep and reptilian. Karkat froze up. Fear pierced to his core, body cold with limbs shaking. His breathing became shallow and his pupil’s constricted.

The taller troll gripped Karkat tight, holding him in place. Karkat’s heart beat began to pick up. The tall troll opened his grand mouth, exposing pointed teeth. He brought his jaw down, onto Karkat's neck. Liquid fire ran through the smaller troll's veins. When Karkat blinked, Kurloz was suddenly a few steps back. He looked amused. Blood ran down his arm. Karkat hissed. He flexed his hands, claws extended.

Kurloz licked his lips. Karkat’s eyes became purple and he was thrown onto the tiled floor. Kurloz let go of his grip and walked towards the smaller troll, and stepped on his head. Karkat watched as the troll’s eyes became entirely purple and a voice entered his head.

“YOU, WEAKLING, WILL SURRENDER TO ME OR DIE,” The guttural voice penetrated Karkat’s mind. The smaller troll groaned and tried to kick out the troll’s other leg. Kurloz snickered and kicked Karkat back, hard. Karkat slid back into the cabinet.

Karkat wheezed and gripped his stomach, coughing. He tried to lift himself up, and grabbed the counter. Kurloz strolled over. Karkat hissed again and swiped at him. Kurloz swayed back and slammed his fist down onto Karkat’s back. Karkat grunted and fell onto his stomach.

“YOU ARE PATHETIC AND DISGUSTING,” The voice said. Karkat struggled to breathe. The vision on the corners of his eyes became blurred. “TELL ME, GRUB, WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE? TO WITHER ON THE GROUND LIKE REFUSE.”

Karkat’s hearing was curbed. He tried to raise to his elbows, and he coughed. A slight taste of metal tinged his tongue. From on the floor he heard a loud noise. Kurloz turned around and walked the other way.

Karkat rose up, onto his knees first and then onto his feet. The tall troll had left his sight. There was another loud noise coming from the hall. Karkat searched the kitchen. Next to the garbage was a long black object. Karkat walked over and grabbed it. His eyes widened. In his hands he held a sword with a black sheath.

There was yelling from the hall now, loud and aggressive. Karkat stumbled over, and peaked around the corner.

“LEAVE THIS PREMISIS IMMEDIATELY!!!” The voice came from the tall blond intruder from earlier. Dave’s brother was backed into the front door. Kurloz loomed over him, hair bristled and arms extended. He howled a fearsome sound that made Karkat panic for a split second. The human was huddled on the ground.

Karkat took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the sword. He walked carefully over to the troll. Kurloz was leaning down ready to attack when a sudden blow to the back of the head made him fumbled backwards. Karkat stood over him and kicked him as hard as he could in the head. Kurloz blacked out.

Karkat stood over the unconscious troll, moderately winded. The look of horror on the human’s face was almost laughable, if Karkat could laugh. Dave’s brother was silent, mouth agape and glasses sliding down his face. Karkat tossed the sword away and clutched his side.

“I SAVED YOU,” Karkat said, breaking the silence. “TAKE ME TO SEE HIM”.

“wha--” The blond was interrupted.

“DAVE. I NEED TO APOLOGIZE,” Karkat replied.

The blond closed his mouth to a thin line. “No way,” He replied.

“WHY?”

“Why should I let you?” The blond braced the door and tried to get up. “You, all of ‘you’, Dave’s ‘friends’, you’re all trouble makers. My brother is Ill. He can’t handle bad influences. You’re all just killing him, can’t you see that?”

“BUT I…I NEED TO APOLOGIZE,” Karkat replied, sadness in his voice.

“No, if you want to help you all can just stay away from him,” The blond used the door knob to rise to his feet. “I helped raise him to be a good Christian and look where he is”.

“I…I…” Karkat looked away. “I FUCKING LIKE HIM OK? HE LIKES ME TOO. WE LIVED TOGETHER. GOG DAMN IT. PLEASE JUST, LET ME FUCKING APOLOGIZE TO HIM.”

Dave looked at Karkat good and hard before he spoke. “Alright,” He responded. “Forgiveness is a worthy cause. First though, I came to get some of Dave’s clothes”.

Karkat waited in the hall. When Dave’s brother came out, he had a bundle of clothing in his arms. The two walked out together to the man’s car. When the troll hopped in, the human spoke. “My name’s Dirk by the way,” he said. “Dirk Strider”.

“I’M KARKAT VANTAS,” Karkat replied, unsure of why he told him his last name. “SO WHERE IS DAVE?”

Dirk started up the car and drove. “In the hospital,” he replied with a grave look on his face.

Karkat frowned and looked out the window. “I WAS AFRAID OF THAT,” He said.

“I need to explain something to you,” Dirk began. “If you two make up you can never see him again”.

“WHY’S THAT?” Karkat asked, suddenly defensive.

“Dave is meant for greatness,” Dirk began.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Karkat asked.

“When Dave is ready, he will take over our mother's business,” Dirk began. “She knew it from the moment she was us in the orphanage. Dave would be the one to lead her business into a new age. Growing up he was such a good boy, I helped raise him and I tried to teach him how to be tough. We were taught strict Christian morals to be good people. However one day, Dave woke up and changed. He told us he was having morbid dreams. We did the right thing. We took him to the pastor. Mother and I prayed for him. Even still, he began acting out. He didn’t want to run the business, even though it’s been his god given right since he was—we were adopted”.

“DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE ALL OF THAT?” Karkat asked.

“With all of my being,” Dirk responded.

There was a silence in the car.

“We let him go, you know. He told us he was leaving but we didn’t stop him. Mother said he needed to journey into the world. Then once he knew the evil of this world, when he burned himself out, Dave would come home stronger”. Dirk bit his lip. “We didn’t even know where he was until the accident. I want my brother to be sober. I want him be at my wedding. I don't want to go to a funeral”.

The car pulled into a large hospital parking lot. Dirk parked and got out of the car. He went into the trunk and met Karkat on the other side. Dirk handed Karkat the clothes. “I’m not going to watch you,” Dirk told Karkat. “I’m going to take you inside, and then I’ll take you home. In between, you will be forgiven and then afterward you’ll forget you ever knew Dave Strider”.

“I JUST WANT TO SEE HIM,” Karkat replied. Dirk nodded and the two walked into the hospital. From the desk, up the elevator, and to the room the two were silent. Dirk stopped a few feet away from the door.

“That’s his room,” He said. “I’ll be in the waiting room”.

With that the tall blond left. Karkat looked at the open doorway and took a deep breath before walking in.

 

 


	13. His last day

The moment felt like it was frozen in a picture. The bright light from the window shone glowing light in the dim room. It illuminated the sides of Dave’s figure, sitting up in the bed. Karkat wanted to laugh. It bubbled up from his chest, but he swallowed it. It was his nerves. This scene, Dave sitting up and smiling at him, wasn’t real. That IV plugged into his vein that was fake. It had to be.

            Karkat waked closer, in silence. A sob choked up. He grabbed his shirt to keep it down and it made his throat sore. Dave’s smile. It wasn’t happy or a gentle. It was a sad smirk. It said, “Yea, this happened”. Maybe he was nervous too.

Dave looked different. His shades were gone. His hair was slicked back and wet. Most of all he looked tired. The light’s made him paler, if that was possible, and his freckles looked bolder. He was the first to speak. “Welcome to uh, casa de Strider,” He said. “Make yourself at home”.

“YOU FUCKING IDIOT,” Karkat replied. “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?” Karkat kept his distance. He stood a few feet away.

“Clearly I’ve relocated,” Dave replied, jokingly.

“BE SERIOUS,” Karkat said.

“Heh, can’t blame me for trying to lighten up the mood,” Dave’s smile faltered.

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

“I over did it, as usual”.

“WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I LEFT?”

“You left?”

Karkat flinched. He hadn’t expected the blond not to know.

“YEA…”

“Oh…well I guess that worked out for the best. I was told it wasn’t a pretty sight”.

“TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED DAMMIT”.

“I uh…overdosed on something,” Dave looked away. “The doctors said if I didn’t overdose I probably would have gotten alcohol poisoning instead. But what do doctors know? They’ve only spent…years of their life to know what they’re talking about”. Dave dropped his smile.    

Karkat bowed his head and ran both of his hands through his hair. “THIS IS FUCKED,” He mumbled. When he looked up tears glossed his eyes. “DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKED THIS IS?”  

Dave became serious. “Karkat, it’s not your fault,” He said. “I’ve always been kind of stupid. This time though, this cool cat barely managed to save his last life”.

“THAT’S NOT OK,” Karkat replied.

“Hey I’m alive aren’t I?”

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND,” Karkat insisted. His eyes were dangerously close to spilling. “I…I PITY YOU!”

“Karkat, you pity me?”

“IN A NON-PLATONIC WAY,” Karkat replied. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?”

“No,” Dave frowned. “I’m actually really sad now”.  

            “FOR THE LOVE OF GOG,” Karkat yelled. “I HAVE RED FEELINGS FOR YOU!”

            “WHAT LIKE A HEART?” Dave asked. “DO YOU HEART ME?”

            “WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT TO CALL IT. IM FLUSHED FOR YOU DAVE!” Karkat was crying now, from frustration. His face burned red.

Dave laughed. It started small like a chuckled and escalated to a hearty, shoulders bobbing laugh. The human fell back onto the bed, still laughing.

            “WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!” Karkat yelled.

            “Karkat I,” Dave coughed. “I heart you too!”

            “Y-YOU DO?”

            “Yes!”

            Karkat huffed and wiped his tears away. “GET UP,” He demanded. Dave got up, still chuckling. Karkat walked over and hugged him, burying his face in the hospital gown. “IM SO SORRY…”

            “About leaving?” Dave asked. He hugged the troll.

            “NO, ABOUT BEING A RUDE JACKASS WITH YOUR DREAM,” Karkat replied.

            “Do you believe me?” Dave asked.

            “I DON’T KNOW,” Karkat said. “BUT I’M WILLING TO LISTEN”.

            The two hugged for another moment. Karkat pulled back.

            “WE NEED TO LEAVE THIS PLACE,” The troll said. “THIS TOWN, THIS WHOLE STATE. THE PEOPLE HERE ARE POISON. IF WE STAY WE’LL DIE HERE”.

            Dave was quiet for a moment. “Yea,” He said. “We’ll find our own hide away. Let’s go”.

            “RIGHT NOW?” Karkat asked.

            Dave pulled back and popped the IV out of his arm. Karkat grimaced as he watched Dave bandage up the bleeding area with gauze from the side table.

            “Right fucking now,” Dave replied. The human jumped out of bed.

            In a few minutes Dave was dressed. The two walked out together. Dirk didn’t seem to be in the waiting room. “A friend of mine brought my car back to the apartments,” Dave said. “We just need to get there”. Karkat took him to the bus stop and the two traveled home.

            Once at the apartment, Dave and Karkat walked up the steps. From the stairs, it was easy to see the door was wide open. Inside, the place was wrecked. Furniture was ripped, torn apart. Pictures were thrown from the walls. There was glass everywhere. Karkat stood there, frozen. He had forgotten about Kurloz. Dave sucked on his teeth. “This apartment has no purpose now,” He said.  

            Dave and Karkat walked through the apartment and split ways. Dave reemerged with his keys in hand and glasses on his face. Karkat crept into the guess room and riffled through the trash bin. He soon left with his check. The two left the apartment and didn’t look back. They drove off.

            “WE CAN LIVE TOGETHER WITH THIS,” Karkat said, holding the check. “WE CAN BUILD A FUTURE SOMEWHERE”.

            “Where do you want to go?” Dave asked.

            “I DON’T KNOW. I’VE NEVER LEFT THIS AREA”.

            “Well it doesn’t matter where, right?”

            “I GUESS”.

            “What if we went to the big apple?”

            “NEW YORK?”

            “Manhattan”.

            “IT’S EXPENSIVE THERE”.

            “Yea but think of all the apple juice”.

            “WHAT?”

            “I’ll work 2 jobs if I have to”.

            “OK, I’LL FIND A NEW JOB TOO. WE’RE REALLY DOING THIS.”

            “To the big apple!”

            They drove on until the sunset before they pulled into a rest stop. They had made it past a few towns at this point. In an hour they would be out of the state. Dave unbuckled himself and got out of the car.

            “I’m going to the can,” He said before closing the door. Karkat laid back in his seat and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out.

            After Dave got the key, he unlocked the bathroom and stepped inside. He quickly ran to the toilet. He couldn’t hold it at this point. He fell to his knees and threw up into the bowl. He drooled heavily and spit. Then he threw up again. When he felt that he could stand, he hoisted himself up onto shaky legs. He walked over to the sink and splashed water onto his face. When he looked up, his reflection stared back. Dave washed his hands and walked back to the car.

            “You're up, kitty,” Dave said as he climbed into the car.

            “KITTY?” Karkat looked over at Dave. “IS THAT A WEIRD HUMAN TERM OF ENDEARMENT?”

            Dave blushed. “Oh my god I said that aloud,” He laughed. “Yea, yea it is.”

            Karkat opened the door. “OK WELL, KEEP YOUR GUSHY PITIFUL NICKNAMES TO YOURSELF NEXT TIME.” He said, before he closed the door.

            When Karkat was done in the bathroom, the two drove off. They passed the toll and entered the next state. A wave of excitement was in the air. Karkat looked around and stared at the buildings.

            “You look so cute when you’re being a tourist,” Dave commented.

            “EXCUSE ME FOR BEING ETHUSIASTIC,” Karkat retorted.

            “They’re just buildings,” Dave replied.

            “NO, THEY'RE NOT ‘JUST BUILDINGS’,” Karkat said mimicking Dave's accent. “THEY’RE A DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE,” Karkat said, looking back out the window.

            The two drove on into the night until they reached a clearing on the side of the road. Dave pulled over. Karkat tilted his head. “WHY ARE WE STOPPING?” He asked.

            “You know what would be fun?” Dave said, turning off the car. “Public indecency”.

            “ARE WE STREAKING?” Karkat asked, cautiously.

            “No you fool. We're going to fool around”.

            “OH.”

            “Oh, indeed”.

            Karkat got out and walked to Dave's side of the car. The driver's side opened and Dave pushed his legs out of the car. When he went to stand up, he wheezed and fell over. Shocked, Karkat picked him off the ground. Dave gasped, and held his head. The blond teetered on his feet.

            “ARE YOU OK?” Karkat asked.

            “I'm just tired,” Dave laughed. “I think I might have blacked out”.

            “YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?”

            “More than anything in this world”.

            The two entered the back seat, and began discarding clothing. Dave took Karkat into his arms and they kissed. Dave pulled away, a red blush dusted across his freckled face.

            “This is embarrassing but I think I need help getting there,” Dave said.

            Karkat blushed and began rubbing a grub scar. He moaned gently. Once his bulge had been coaxed out, he began to rub that.

            Dave licked his lips and pushed Karkat's legs slightly wider. Karkat stroked his bulge, softly panting. He looked away from the blond, out of embarrassment. When he looked back, he saw Dave's member had grown, and stiffened. The human moved in and kissed Karkat, who kissed back. When the blond pulled back he toppled over, falling into the crevice between the car seats.

            Karkat pulled him out. Dave ran a hand through his hair. “I think you have to go on top,” Dave said. His voice sounded dry, and he was panting as if breathless.

            “I DON'T...” Karkat hesitated. “I DON'T WANT TO CONTINUE. YOU'RE STILL SICK AREN'T YOU?”

            The human looked away for a moment and then took off his glasses. When he looked back, he had a determined look in his eye. “Please,” He said. “I need to do this”.

            “WHY? YOU'RE GOING TO HURT YOURSELF,” Karkat said, anger rising in his voice.

            “I…had a dream when I overdosed,” Dave said. “I was another Dave and I was traveling around in time, I think. I don’t know, it looked supernatural. Anyway, I saw something that made me really afraid. We heart each other right? Please do this for me”.

            “I DON’T UNDERSTAND,” Karkat said, full of anger by this point.

            “The beautiful thing is that you don’t need to,” Dave replied. He touched the troll’s cheek and kissed him. “Everything’s going to be ok now”.

            Karkat kissed him back. “PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE GOING TO BE OK?” He said.

            Dave pulled the troll in and hugged him. “I’ll be around. Don’t sweat it…”

            Dave laid down and Karkat got on top of him. When he sat down, the girth stretched him. Dave had never been this deep in before. He groaned. Karkat moved his hips. Together, they moved. The car became full of heat. A bead of sweat rolled down the troll’s face. He moaned. It was so good. Claw marks, biting. He couldn’t stop. Maybe it was because this was the first time he had Dave sober. That or that he could see his eyes now. They were so red in the darkness of the car.

            Dave panted and moaned small throaty sounds. The troll drank in the noise. It was marvelous. A light broke in the distance and the car was flooded with light before the other car rolled past. Dave closed his eyes and moaned a pitiful sound. The feeling of something warm inside the troll, sent the Karkat over. He gripped the car seat and let the pleasure roll over him. There wasn’t much of a mess thankfully.

            Karkat leaned down and kissed the human. Dave remained with his eyes clothed, mouth slightly parted. The troll got up and chuckled.

“WE REALLY SHOULD USE A BUCKET OR SOMETHING,” Karkat said. Dave didn’t respond. He laid on the car seat. Karkat looked at his face. Square jaw, long eyelashes, Dave was so handsome. “ARE WE SLEEPING HERE OR DO YOU WANT ME TO DRIVE?” Karkat said. No response. “YOU MOTHERFUCKER. YOU FELL ASLEEP ON ME. HEY WAKE UP JACKASS”. Karkat shook Dave’s shoulder. The human was pushed around without resistance. Karkat shook harder. Nothing. “HEY!” He shouted. Nothing. Karkat smacked the blond’s face lightly. Nothing. He noticed a paleness to Dave’s face. “EARTH TO DAVE, WAKE THE FUCK UP!” Karkat yelled. He smacked harder but Dave didn’t respond.

Karkat placed a finger under Dave’s nose. The troll tensed up, hair bristling on the back of his neck. He placed his fingers underneath the human’s jawline. Nothing. “DAVE,” He tried yelling again. “DAVE!” Tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly kissed Dave. When he pulled back nothing had changed. He didn’t even know why he tried that.

Karkat quickly went into his bag and found his phone. It was dead. Dave’s phone was dead too. He tried mouth to mouth resuscitation. Nothing. He screamed as loudly as he could and banged on Dave’s silent chest. Nothing. Dave was dead.

Karkat threw back his head and screamed as thick tears raced down his cheeks. He hit the back seat and cursed. He cried until he became light headed but the tears wouldn’t stop. When he finally regained composure, it wasn’t because the pain had resided. His chest ached unnaturally. He had stopped because the tears had just dried up.

The troll looked at Dave’s face. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the light but the human looked like he was turning grey. His lips were blue. Karkat took in a shaky breath. Dave could have made a beautiful troll.


	14. See Ya Later

A grey hand turned the key and the car started with a jolt. The engine sparked to life, and the AC blasted out warm air. The radio rudely yelled. A somewhat familiar tune filled Karkat’s tired ears. The female singer sang, _“They’re driving fast cars, but they don’t know where they’re going…”_

The sky was a smoky chocolate yellow, illuminated by millions of silver pillars topped with golden fire. They lined the road and saturated the world in yellow. One by One, they passed in single file and continued on into forever.

_“and he says, 'I wish that I could be like the cool kids. Cause all the cool kids they seem to fit in'...”_

The car had become cold by this point and it was quickly on the verge of becoming freezing. It would have bothered him, normally he hated the cold. Right now though, the cold couldn’t even match what he felted inside.

He watched the road with raw, red eyes. One by one the green signs flew by. He didn’t know where he was going at this point. He just knew he had to drive. He had to get as far away as possible. Far away from anger, and sadness, and death. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he was running away. No matter how far he drove the problem would still be in the back seat until he got rid of it.

He couldn’t go back now. He couldn’t go forward either. Someone would get called eventually. The police, or maybe someone worse. The humans wouldn’t believe him, he was a troll.

_“I wish that I could be like the cool kids. Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it”._

Maybe if he drove faster. Maybe if the dial went past 70, maybe if it went past 80, his problem could be solved. If by chance, he were to meet a solid stop maybe then everything would be fixed. In a blazing fire, nobody would know. Red blood on the street would look the same if it were from him or from him. Maybe, just maybe, he would see him again if only for a moment. Maybe everything would be solved.

One of the signs caught his attention. Karkat flicked his turn signal and headed towards the destination. After a few minutes the sky cleared up. Down a few turns, Karkat reached a parking lot. He got out, locked the car and walked. The air here smelled like salt. He reached the beach and walked towards the ocean.

Into the distance there was a playground. Karkat turned and walked there. Straight to the swings, he sat down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He walked backwards and let go. The swing carried him, but he didn’t pump his legs. He let himself rock back and forth. His hands slipped and grasped a lower link. He leaned back. The world shifted under him. He opened his eyes. Someone was walking towards the swing set. Karkat’s fingers suddenly slipped and he fell backwards. His head hit the soft sand with a light thud.

A human teenager stood over him. The boy looked at Karkat for a moment before he smiled. “Hey I know you,” He said. The boy lent the troll a hand. Karkat look it and got up. “You look older but you’re defiantly the same guy”.

“THANKS FOR WHATEVER BUT I DON’T KNOW YOU KID,” Karkat replied.

The boy was a head shorter than Karkat. He wore a red hoodie with the hood up and black jeans. His face was partially obscured by the darkness.

“No way. Same shouty voice and stubby horns,” The boy said. “You’re growth spurt isn’t going to trick me Karkat”.

“HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?” Karkat asked, cautiously.

The boy flipped his hood down. Fuzzy blond hair poked out. His face hadn’t been obscured, he was wearing sunglasses at night.

Karkat rolled his eyes and scoffed. “OH THAT’S JUST FUCKING COMICAL. THE UNIVERSE DECIDES TO TAUNT ME WITH ANOTHER HUMAN WEARING SUNGLASSES WHEN THEY'RE UNNECESSARY. AFTER THE WORST FUCKING DAY OF MY LIFE. WOW GOG, WOW TROLL JEGUS, GREAT JOB JUST JABBING IT RIGHT IN THERE. YOU GUYS SURE KNOW HOW TO USE A KNIFE AND TWIST IT. GOOD JOB. WHY DON’T I JUST MAKE MY LIFE A LIVING NIGHTMARE AND BRING OUT MY DEAD MATESPRIT INTO THIS CONUNDRUM. FUCK IT, ILL JUST WEAR SUNGLASSES TOO AND WE CAN HAVE A GOG DAMN MOTHING FUCKING SHIT GARGLING TEA PARTY,” Karkat mumbled angrily.

“Oh man, you’re down right hilarious when you rant,” The teenager laughed.

“OH MY GOG, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?” Karkat hissed.

“You don’t recognize this handsome mug, or these hella sick shades?” The boy asked.

“IF YOU INSIST ON TORTURING ME THEN I CAN SAY YOU LOOK LIKE SOMEONE WHO DIED TODAY”.

“God Damn, I’m already dead?”

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME”.

“Come on dogg, we’re bros, remember?”

“GO AWAY SATAN”.

The boy took off his glasses. “How about now?” He asked. The boy had bright red eyes.

Karkat backed up into the swing. Tears welled up in his eyes. “FUCK,” He mumbled. “THIS IS SO UNFAIR”.

The two sat together side by side on the swings. Neither of them moved. Karkat leaned his forearms on his knees.

“So I guess my Karkat is going to get a wicked tan and pretty red eyes,” the boy remarked. “Man, you look so different!”

“WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE HIM?” Karkat asked.

“I am him,” the boy said. “Just another version of him”.

“THIS DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE,” Karkat said. “ARE YOU A GHOST?”

Dave laughed and almost fell off the swing. “Karkat, come on. Don’t you remember your time in the game? Different timelines?” He asked.

“MY DAVE USE TO TELL ME ABOUT NONSENSICAL DREAMS HE HAD,” Karkat replied. “HE DREAMED ABOUT FANTASTICAL ADVENTURES. HE THOUGHT THEY WERE REAL, I THINK”.

“You don’t remember anything like that?” Dave asked.

“OF COURSE NOT,” Karkat replied. “HE WAS JUST DREAMING”.

“Well I hate to be the barer of bad news, but I’m gonna have to lay some heavy hella fresh truth here. Those weren’t dreams, bro”.

“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE”.

“Wow, are you really going to tell the time traveling teenager that what he has to say is incorrect?”

“WAS HE DREAMING ABOUT YOU?”

“He was probably dreaming about his session. Both of us played a game called Sburb. I’m sure we both had our share of crazy adventures. You were there too. Don’t you remember the game you won?”

“NO. I DON’T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS. WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

“You’re not going to like what I have to say”.

“I NEED TO KNOW DAVE. THIS SHIT IS EATING ME AWAY. I WATCHED MY BEST FRIEND DIE TODAY. HE DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO SAVE HIMSELF. WHY WAS HE OK WITH DYING?”

“He saw the inevitable”.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“Ok. This isn’t easy to tell you but your Dave was going to die no matter what. If he had dreams of his session he probably knew this was a doomed timeline”.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?”

“Ok, well, we all played a game called Sburb, and in the game if something shoved the game into a closed time loop a doomed timeline was created. It’s hard to explain but the timeline splits off from the alpha and everyone in a doom timeline…well dies”.

“SO WE’RE IN THE GAME RIGHT NOW?”

“No we’ve already won, both this timeline and my own. We’re living in the reward, a newly created universe. However, this is where it gets tricky. Your session’s timeline was never meant to win. You swindled the game somehow. I don’t know what happened. So you can see the problem right? The game isn’t supposed to have two separate, similar endings. The game had an error. This ending has glitches. Nobody remembers each other. Nobody has the right ending”.

“THAT’S WHY MY DAVE DIED? BECAUSE OF A GAME? THIS IS SO FUCKED UP. AM…AM I GOING TO DIE TOO?”

Dave was silent for a moment. “Yea,” He finally replied. “Eventually”.

Karkat gulped. His chest hurt. “SO I’M JUST WAITING TO DIE? CAN’T YOU JUST END THIS RIGHT HERE?”

“No I can’t,” Dave replied. “I’m not a killer”.

“I DON’T WANT TO DIE,” Karkat clenched his fist.

“I’m sorry,” Dave replied. “Just think, everyone is going to die at some point. Just everyone on this planet is going to die sooner”.

“JEGUS, EVERYONE?”

“Everyone. Paradox Space is cleaning itself up”.

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

“I was curious how the game let a doomed timeline win. I was going to ask myself but I’m dead”.

“WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?”

“Why are you asking me?” Dave said. “Go out and live your life. If Dave remembered than others might remember too, possibly. Go find them. Live”.

Dave stood up. “I might as well leave,” he said. “Take care, older Karkat”.

“WAIT BEFORE YOU GO,” Karkat said. “CAN YOU ANSWER SOMETHING FOR ME?”

“What’s up?” Dave stopped.

“DO YOU LIKE THE KARKAT FROM YOUR TIMELINE?”

“We’re best bros. Why?” Dave looked away, and put back on his shades.

“IF I’M ANYTHING LIKE THAT GUY THAN I PROBABY LIKE YOU, A LOT. I’M A SHY GUY THOUGH SO JUST GIVE ME—HIM A HUG”.

“…k”. Dave walked off.

Karkat sat on the swings for a while and let the cool ocean breeze rush through his hair. Far away, the blond disappeared in a quick flash of light. The light revealed two hidden trolls in the shadows. They stepped out onto the beach. The moonlight caught their wild black hair, and shined off their long horns. They walked towards the swings. From far away Karkat heard an out of place noise. Someone had squeezed a horn. He pumped his legs, and began to swing.

.

.

.

Somewhere else, Karkat typed away on a computer. He looked up at the sound of the door opening. Dave stood there with no expression.

“STRIDER WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WA-”Karkat was cut off as Dave hugged him. Karkat blushed and looked away. “W-WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?”

When Dave pulled away, Karkat saw his tear stained cheeks. The troll took Dave's face is his hand. “WOAH, HOLY SHIT. DID YOU WATCH THE OUTSIDERS AGAIN?”

“Not this time,” Dave started, wiping his cheeks. “I'm just happy things turned out right for us”.

“YOU WUSS,” Karkat said. “YOU WENT TIME TRAVELING AGAIN, DIDN'T YOU?”

“Maybe”

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T GOING TO DO THAT”.

“This timeline was different and I was curious”.

Karkat pulled Dave into a hug and rested his face into the human's neck. “WELL, NO MORE TIME SHENANIGANS, OK?” Karkat said.

Dave hugged back. A silence passed by the two.

“I like you,” Dave mumbled.

“WHAT?”

“Fuck you”.

“DOUCHE”.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
> .  
> .  
>  Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Well, here we are at the end of this fanfic. Man, what a journey. You stuck it out until the end, I like that. There were a lot of ups and downs. You may have even learned a moral lesson if you somehow scrounged one up. Good for you.   
> Anyway, I wanted to talk about the ending of my story. I hope you enjoyed it. I think I rushed the story and now the ending is a little more bitter sweet than i wanted it to be. I started the story out with about 80% of it figured out. I can tell you that Dave was going to die from the beginning, I've always had that in my tags. I wasn't sure how I would wrap this thing up. I wanted there to be maybe a few more sexy scenes too, but I couldn't work them through the plot. All in all, I hope you enjoyed the story. If I feel inclined I may edit it one day but I doubt it.   
> In the future I might write a few more stories. If I do I hope you read them, and give them some feedback. Thank you for reading, again.
> 
> Don't forget to comment, Kuddo, bookmark whatever.


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